His Mate
by V. L. MacKenzie
Summary: Title is temporary. Citrus in later chapters: do not read if you aren't mature enough to handle it. If you don't like crude humor, don't read. InuKag, rated for later chapters. Riff on the original. A few OCs, a few OOCs. Full sum on Author's page.
1. To Fall Through Time

**Disclaimer:** I do not own InuYasha and Co. The original characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I only use them for my own twisted amusement.

**Ownage:** I own any character that I create (I will say any that I make up at the end of each chapter). I don't care if you use them for your own sick pleasure, but I would like to be warned.

**Summary:** Pretty much the same as the manga/anime, except with my own plot devices.  
InuYasha escapes from the tree to save Kagome because she is his destined Mate. But everything seems to be conspiring against them as trouble looms in the eminent future. What happens when his fathers' past enemies come to take their revenge, when a dark enemy surfaces…or when Kagome leaves for her home world?

0…0…0

**Chapter One - To Fall Through Time**

_Destiny will lead you on._

0…0…0

**Sengoku Jidai**

_How stupid can I get! Believing Kikyo could love me…._ The thoughts raced through the hanyou's mind as he leapt into the trees, a small round jewel clutched in his clawed hand. _I will never be that stupid again. She wasn't even my damn Mate! How the hell could I be so stupid…._

He sped through the forest as if he could escape the sadness, the betrayal welling within him. He had truly thought that he and Kikyo could be happy together, that they could have had something. But, instead, she'd been planning to kill him the whole time. She'd only been toying with him! How could he have fallen for such a farce? What kind of demon was he, anyways?

As he moved swiftly and silently, he suddenly felt eyes on him. He turned his head just in time to see Kikyo shooting an arrow directly at his heart.

He could only watch in astonishment as it hit him, slamming him back into the Goshinboku. He felt the arrow push through him into the bark of the tree, pinning him to the ancient wood. The jewel fell from his hand, rolling out of his reach. He weakly held out one arm as he felt unconsciousness trying to overcome him. He looked back at Kikyo and felt true hatred, true fury.

When the darkness finally overtook him, he promised himself he would bring those emotions straight to Hell with him.

0…0…0

**Present Day**

Kagome Higurashi left her home, waving to her mother happily. It was finally her fifteenth birthday! Who wouldn't be happy?

She walked towards the road absently, so used to the path that she didn't even have to look up. Everything about her home was routine. Waking up, she changed into her school uniform, then went downstairs to eat her favorite cereal. Then, her mother would tell her that she was going to be late if she didn't leave right that minute and hand her the lunch she had packed. On the way to school, Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka--her best friends--would meet up with her in front of Ayumi's family's store, which was on the way to school. They would walk and talk about the cute guys in their class--mostly Houjo, though Kagome only thought of him as a friend, really.

Sighing, the schoolgirl continued towards the stairs leading to the street when she heard her brother, Souta, call out to her.

"Hey, Sis! Buyo is in the wellhouse!" he shouted, waving at her energetically, as though she didn't know where the wellhouse was on their property.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to him, crouching down. "Why don't you go get him then?"

"W-well…I don't know where he went in there!"

She stood, holding back the urge to call him a baby, and stepped onto the rickety stairs carefully, testing them to see if they would fall apart.

Noting that they didn't give way, she walked down them, still cautious. She could hear the meow of her cat as she reached the bottom and tried to pinpoint where the noise had come from. But a faint scratching from the old well kept reaching her ears, making her wonder if somehow the cat had gotten in there. When she looked at the well, she realized he couldn't have fallen in; it was covered with planks to prevent anyone from falling.

Frightened, she screamed when Buyo rubbed against her leg, which made her brother yell as well.

"What'd ya do that for?!" he shouted. A blush crept across his face tellingly. "It was only Buyo!" he added as she picked the fat cat up.

"Souta--" She turned on him, beginning her rant, when she felt a sudden whoosh of air behind her. The young boy screamed her name just as she felt cold, clammy hands surround her neck to pull her backwards.

She shrieked as she fell into the well, hearing her brother's footsteps scurrying off to get help, stumbling along the way.

"_Ah, my power…I can feel it returning…." _A dark, but feminine voice floated along the air into Kagome's mind as she was turned so she would land on her stomach. Kagome watched in horror as the woman's long, insect-like tongue flicked out and over her cheek. _"You have it, don't you? The Shikon no Tama…. Give it to me!"_

Screaming in disgust, the school girl's hand shot out towards the creature's face. "Stop it!" she shrieked.

A bright light seemed to erupt from her hand and into the female features, causing the centipede-woman to fly away, still shouting about the "Shikon no Tama."

Suddenly, Kagome could feel solid ground under her palms and knees, telling her that she was now back in the well.

Looking up, she wondered if it could have been a dream, if she had hit her head on the sides of the well.

A glance to her left told her that she hadn't been dreaming.

A severed arm lay there, fingers twitching.

With a small squeak, she stammered, "S-Souta! Get Grampa!" No response. "Souta!" She held out the last syllable, beginning to believe her brother had run off.

Her hand moved around the side of the well, feeling for anything that she could use to climb out. Her hand snared a vine she was sure shouldn't have been there and hauled herself up, limbs aching after a little while. _A lot like the rope in gym. Couldn't do that, either._

She continued berating herself for not trying very hard in her physical education class, deciding she would get more exercise from then on.

As she pulled herself over the edge of the well, she was surprised to see that there was no building around it. In fact, it was in the middle of a clearing, trees blocking out any sight of the shrine she might have had. Frightened, she quickly climbed out and walked into the trees, looking around frantically for her home. Where could it be?! And where had all these trees come from?!

Then she spotted something that she recognized: the Goshinboku. She could find her way home from there!

She sprinted for it, a smile on her face. She'd never been unable to find her way home from the Sacred Tree; she would be back with her family to share her spectacular story within minutes.

But when she entered the small treeless area around the Goshinboku, which was easily the largest tree in the forest, she came to an abrupt stop. Was that a…boy on the tree?

She took a moment to take in what she saw. There was no sign of her house, or even of the Sunset Shrine. No, there was just more trees and plant life, no little inkling that there had ever even _been_ a house near the area. Vines climbed up the Goshinboku, around the boy there. She thought maybe he just had his eyes closed in a daydream; he looked so peaceful. He gave no reaction when she moved closer, which she couldn't help but wonder about.

"Uh…hello? Are you awake?" she asked timidly, inching nearer to his relaxed form. "Hello!"

Then she saw the arrow protruding from him and flinched back with a gasp. He was…shot…by an arrow?! What was going _on_?!

She moved courageously closer to the dead boy, walking up the large vines to get a better look at him.

It was obvious he hadn't been there long; he was still warm when she touched his face. But how could the vines have grown around him so quickly?

Kagome looked him over, seeing that he wore _very_ outdated clothes. There was a tie at his waist for his haori and hakama, making her blink. She'd never met _anyone_ who wore their clothes that way.

His hair, she noted, was inhuman silver white and what was that on his head…. Dog ears?! What was going _on_?!

Suddenly there were shouts behind her. She twisted around, unintentionally blocking the boy's body with her own. "W-who are you?" she called, not yet seeing anyone.

A barrage of arrows came at her then, making her cringe and prepare herself for impact. Instead of puncturing her, they hit the wood around her, caging her in front of the boy.

An old woman came through the trees, aiming one last arrow at her. "Are ye a demon?" she asked raggedly, glaring with one eye at Kagome. "If ye are, prepare for death. No one enters InuYasha's forest." She brought her bowstring back a little farther. "Answer me!"

Four men came out of the trees, also holding bows, though they didn't seem in a hurry to fire. They surrounded the old, one-eyed woman protectively, like she wasn't the one about to kill someone else.

"I…. A demon? Me?" Kagome couldn't believe what she was hearing. Demons? Were they crazy? Since when were there demons?

"Aye, are ye?"

She blinked. Aye? Ye? When had _that_ become normal? "N-no. I'm not a demon. I just fell into the dry well at my shrine--"

"The dry well?" one of the men interjected. "Ye mean the Bone Eater's Well?"

She nodded her head quickly, happy to be making some leeway. "Yes. You see, there was this large…creature that grabbed me and pulled me in. I don't know what happened, but I didn't come back out to my home."

"Ye lie."

The voice was the old woman's, full of suspicion and disbelief. Kagome brought her gaze back to her, surprised--though she shouldn't have been--that the woman didn't believe her. Weren't they the ones talking about demons and shooting arrows at random people? Not to mention the fact that they wore waist knots, also. Maybe it was some cult that Kagome didn't know of.

"Nothing has ever gone into the dry well and come back out."

That made Kagome start to wonder about these people's sanities. They didn't believe that something could come back out of a well but believed that a young girl only wanting to go to school was a demon. They _couldn't_ be entirely rational!

"Well, this centipede…thing just came out of nowhere then and yanked me in there. I don't know how I got here, but if you could turn me to the direction of the Sunset Shrine, I'd be so grateful!" She smiled, hoping that it would make the other woman stop aiming at her heart. When no one relaxed even slightly, she began to walk towards them slowly, hands up in surrender. "I'm not trying to do anything to hurt you guys. I'm just trying to find my way back home, that's all."

Before she knew what was happening, the men rushed her, grabbing her arms and pulling them behind her back, tying her in that position. She kicked at them blindly, uncaring when she heard their grunts of pain or when she felt the burning sensation in her wrists.

She heard something…a snarl…. Who was it? No one else seemed to notice, she saw, when she stopped thrashing. Had they not heard it?

_Fight them_, she heard in her head. _Don't let them fucking touch you._

She was astonished by the voice, the rough words. It sounded like the owner was furious, ready to attack whatever was out there, though it wasn't tangible. But she felt empowered by it. She would fight because it told her to. Whoever's it was, they didn't want these people to touch her anymore than she wanted them to.

_Goddamnit, girl! Fight dirty! Don't let them fucking hurt you! At least not until I can get to you…._ The voice drifted off into oblivion as the blood began to pound with the adrenaline in her body.

When a man's wrist came close to her mouth, she bit him, clenching down as hard as she could on the tendons, ignoring his livid shouts and his attempts to yank it out of the bear trap. She dug her teeth in more, listening to the sound of the voice's happiness in her head. It encouraged her to fight harder, to lash out with whatever she could. Legs, teeth, head…it didn't care.

Suddenly, she felt as though it was too hard to keep her teeth clenched on the man. She was breathing something…something that was making her so tired…. She let go of the man and began falling.

_Don't faint on me! Wait until I can fucking get there for you! Just hold out a little longer…._

She tried to do as the voice said, but her head was becoming too heavy, too full. She could feel the people rushing about her, their footsteps falling heavily.

Then she felt something hard strike her head and darkness began to invade her vision.

_I'll kill 'em! I'll kill all of 'em! Damnit, if it weren't for this damn arrow…._

She fell to the ground, hoping the voice would quiet down so she could get some sleep. Her whole body felt so…heavy and…leaden. She wanted nothing more than to sleep until she woke back in her bed.

Kagome was out before the woman even ordered the men to bring her back to their village.

0…0…0

He tried to force himself to wake up, to go find whoever had hurt _her_ and kill them. It was natural, considering his youkai instincts. She was the one, the one he had once hoped to find in Kikyo. But now…he could smell her, hear her voice.

Her scent was so close to Kikyo's, so similar…yet so different. Only the strongest of noses would detect the subtle difference, but it was there.

He had also smelt the men that had surrounded her, along with one other woman's. He had felt her pain, the rope across her wrists, marking her skin brutally. They had believed she was a demon? He had smelt that she was a human. And her voice had been so sincere, so frightened, that he had felt himself stirring for the first time in so long. He had felt the arrow piercing him, the tree's bark at his back. He'd heard the rustle of leaves in the breeze and smelt the dewy grass.

He'd also felt one emotion rip through him that he'd never felt before: possession. How _dare_ those damn humans touch her like that! He would rip them to shreds just for _thinking_ about what they'd done. It was the last thing they would do.

If he could only get loose from the tree….

0…0…0

"Where are ye from?" Kaede asked Kagome, sitting on the floor of the old miko's home. Both held the bowls that held their soup.

"Tokyo," the younger girl answered absently, thinking of how she would get there. She didn't know how she'd gotten to _this_ place; how was she going to figure out her way back to her family's shrine? There were no leads to go on except the well. And _that_ wasn't a good idea. Kaede had made it clear that whatever was in that well ate _everything_ that went into that well, from bones to humans.

"Toe-key-oh? I have never heard of it." Kaede set down her bowl. "Ye look much like my late sister, Kikyo."

Kagome rolled her eyes. She'd heard that from the old woman at least a thousand times in the afternoon she'd been there and it was starting to wear on her. "I believe you might have mentioned that before," she said blandly, trying not to be rude. Her mother had taught her respect, but her patience only went so far. Everyone in the village had steered clear of her, whispering behind their hands at her inappropriate clothing and her resemblance to this "Kikyo" person.

"Kagome," the older woman began with a sigh. "Ye need to know something--"

She was cut off by the distinct thud of something very heavy hitting the ground close to the hut, followed by so many screams, Kagome couldn't distinguish male from female.

"Lade Kaede!" someone shouted before there was a loud screech.

Kagome and Kaede raced outside the hut and saw a horse lying just before them, its rib bones visible through the gap in its side. The villagers were running around, the men grabbing spears and bows while the woman brought the children inside their homes.

"_The jewel! You have it, miko! Bring it to me!_" an all too familiar voice screamed, coming from just to Kagome's left.

She turned her head just in time to jump out of the way of the monster's savage looking teeth. Its large body flew past her and swiftly twisted and rose off the ground. Kagome's eyes widened in horror as the thing opened its overly large mouth once more, its lips pulling back over suddenly longer and sharper teeth.

"_Give me the jewel!_" It raced towards her without hesitation.

Screaming, Kagome began running, searching frantically for any way to safety.

That was when the light caught her eye. She swung her head to see what it was.

_The forest is…shining? That's where I'll have to go! There has to be someone out there who can help me!_ The thought flashed through her mind quickly, and she changed her direction so that she was heading towards the forest Kaede had told her to stay out of.

"Kagome! Where are ye going?!" the aforementioned priestess shouted.

"I'm going to the light, Kaede!" she yelled in return over her shoulder. "Maybe the people can help us!" She heard the creature's shrieks and continued on faster, adding, "I'll be back with help, don't worry!"

"But, child, that's InuYasha's forest! There won't be any humans out there!"

"Kaede, I can see the light from their camp! They'll help us, I know it!" Then she was off, leaving the stunned village leader to call for horses and men to fight.

_Child, ye are special. That is not light from a camp, but one that only few people can see. I hope ye find something to help us, regardless._

0…0…0

He could smell her. She was so damn _close._ In a matter of moments, she would be there, just feet in front of him, and he wouldn't even be able to go to her.

Then he caught the odor of a demon on the hunt. With the scent came the sound, forcing him to fight mercilessly against the spell that bound him to the tree, the one thing that was keeping him from her. If he couldn't get to her before the damn youkai, he would never again find her. He had one Mate for eternity; he wouldn't lose her now.

He felt his eyes burst open for the first time in what felt like so long, his eyes adjusting to the different colors.

Once he regained his equilibrium, he attempted to move from his spot, to rush to the aid of his Mate. But before he could leap to the ground, a jolt of electricity flowed through him, shocking him into looking down at the arrow protruding from his chest.

He had forgotten about that. He damned Kikyo a thousand times for the extra obstacle he had to get rid of to help the woman coming at him. _Damnit, once I get my hands on you, you stupid bitch, I'm going to skin you alive for this!_

He brought his hand to the shaft of the arrow, determined to rip it out quickly so he could get the girl before the demon. The odor of the thing was close to overpowering the girl's now, telling him not only that it was closing in on her, but that it was a centipede, too. They weren't known for patience.

Roaring his outrage, he ignored the pain of touching the arrow and began to pull it from the tree and his heart. He could feel the spell trying to stop him, to keep the arrowhead in the tree, slowing his escape down. He could barely feel the agony of the purification powers coursing through him, allowing his demon side to fight against it on its own. He needed a human's determination if he wanted to save his Mate.

Just as the spell began to loosen its hold, a girl in quite…revealing clothing broke through the trees, breathing heavily and stumbling slightly. He knew instantly that this was the girl that the gods had given him for all eternity, the one that was meant for only him. Her scent—the beautiful aroma that was floral and soft and innocent—intoxicated him, almost making him forget about getting to her.

The demon coming after her swiftly stopped any thoughts of doing that.

"_Give me the jewel, you wretched human!_" she screeched, about to catch the girl. "_I will kill you for it!_"

He snarled at that, catching both the girl's and the youkai's attention. "Get away from her, hag!" he ordered, his voice growing louder and darker with the last word.

The centipede woman looked away from him. "_You are only the half-demon that was so weak as to be brought down by a mere arrow. You shouldn't even be alive, you filthy creature._"

He ignored the jab about his heritage when she turned back on the girl, knowing he only had moments to save her.

The arrow seemed to be disintegrating in his hand under the pressure he put on it.

But it wasn't enough.

The demon was lurching towards the girl, who had tripped and fallen on the ground, twisting onto her back in time for the centipede to bite the fragile skin of her hip. The girl cried out, shrinking away from the cause of the pain. She put her hand on the youkai's head and pushed, with all her might. A resounding purple light flashed from her hand into the demon, causing its jaw to unclench and drop her. The girl hit the ground, obviously in pain, and he knew she fought for consciousness as she began groping the ground, searching for something that he hadn't seen.

"_So, you hid the Shikon no Tama within your body? How very clever of you, priestess. But not clever enough. Now, I will just have to take it from you._"

He howled furiously, hoping to catch her attention for the brief second he needed to pull the arrow from his chest.

She didn't mind him. Instead, she threw herself towards the girl, who's right hand was clenched so tightly, her knuckles were as white as snow. The youkai grabbed the girl and held her as she brought her body as high as most of the treetops, before shaking her brutally.

"_Drop it, you worthless mortal! Give me the Shikon no Tama!_"

Though the name registered in his mind, he couldn't focus on anything but saving his Mate from the monster slowly killing her. Finally, he overpowered the spell and heard the distinct sound of horses' hooves galloping through the forest towards them. So, the villagers wanted their prisoner back? He'd kill them as well as the youkai.

He launched himself at the centipede in time for her to drop the girl, who hit the ground, obviously no longer cognizant. But still her hand clutched the object in her hand.

"I'll kill you!" he shouted, jumping to the female centipede's face. He raised his hand and shouted, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

He cut easily through the demon, taking perverted pleasure in the sounds of her dying screams. When he landed, he turned to the girl.

And saw a group of men and one woman surrounding her, lifting her from the ground onto a horse.

"Don't fucking touch her!" he yelled, leaping to them. Their scents were familiar; they had been the ones to hurt her before. He wouldn't let them do it again.

Forcefully, he grabbed her from the man holding her, careful of her injuries. The old woman gasped his name, warning the men not to go after him. He jumped onto a tree, snarling at them.

"How…how are ye off the tree, InuYasha?" the old woman breathed, stepping too close for his comfort.

Growling, he pushed off the branch into a higher one, one they could not see as easily in the dark. "Don't get any fucking closer, hag. I'll be damned before I let you hurt her again."

She seemed confused, her one eye glazing slightly. "Why would I hurt her, InuYasha?" she asked. "I just want to help her." She seemed to gather herself. "And ye have still not answered my question. How are ye off the Goshinboku?"

He snapped his teeth at her. "Sure, you just want to fucking help. That's why you allowed your men there to tie her up and toss her around like she wasn't anything more than a god damned sack of herbs, huh? Get the fuck out of here."

"We thought she was a spy for another village."

He roared. "That doesn't give you the fucking right to hurt her! She's just a woman; what shitty village would send a woman to spy?"

"One that doesn't want to get caught. We also thought she might be a kitsune in disguise."

Looking down at the woman in his arms, he decided that it was plausible. Few women had her beauty and wandered around without their husband or father. It was dangerous for women, he knew. But kitsunes could only hold their shape for so long, and never when they were hurt. They would transform back to their smaller forms when they were tied and run away. So why hurt her after they had figured out she wasn't one?

"Doesn't matter. You shouldn't have hurt my Mate," he decided loudly.

"We do what we have to protect our families, InuYasha, though you may not." She paused, taking in all that he had said. "Your…Mate?" She seemed a bit shocked.

Her bullshit was beginning to rub him the wrong way. "You don't fucking know me, you old hag. So don't talk like you fucking do."

The girl in his arms began waking, her body tensing against him. He held her a bit tighter to him, hoping the humans wouldn't be able to see her silhouette moving in the darkness.

Unfortunately, the gods had blessed him all they would today.

"Bring Kagome down," the aged priestess said. "She will need something for the pain."

He growled, but knew she was right. Humans didn't heal as quickly as demons; he wouldn't let her be in pain.

The girl awoke in degrees, looking up into his face for a moment before horror contorted it. He saw her mouth open the scream, but no sound came out as he cautiously brought them back down to the ground, walking up to the miko.

One of the men tried to take "Kagome" from the cradle of his arms, and he clicked his teeth, flexing his fingers a little. "I'll carry her, ningen," he snarled.

"InuYasha, ye cannot come into the village," the woman said with authority, though he didn't care. "I will not have ye harming anyone."

He pushed past her. "I'll go where I damn well please. And if I wanted to hurt them, do you think I'd listen to your little 'warning' anyways?"

"You…you have to put me down."

The frail voice shocked him, making him look down at the girl struggling past the pain to get out of his arms. His eyes narrowed and he allowed his claws to scrap against her bare leg, one of his fangs showing on his lip. "No, I don't, Mate. _You_ need to get some help." She seemed to relax a little at that, though she was still a bit stiff. "Then, you're coming with me."

She yelped and flailed her limbs, catching him in the face with her hand.

Since he couldn't see the path in front of him, the hand blocking his view caused him to trip over a small fallen log, unable to catch himself. They went down, the girl gasping when she hit her injured hip on the ground and his full body weight crashed down on her. She grimaced in pain, but continued to try to wiggle away from him.

He growled deep in his chest, lifting himself on stiffened arms to keep the pressure off her. "Damnit, bitch, stop fucking squirming!" He knew that his youkai side was too close to the surface after fight was over, adrenaline powering it. And she was _so close_. He could smell everything that had touched her that day, from the faint scent of the soap she must have used to bathe to the overpowering scent of the centipede that had clutched her. If he allowed himself to lose control, he would end up taking her on the ground like an animal, hurting her more than she already was.

She was surprised into silence, her cerulean eyes widening before promptly leaving his.

He took a moment to take in her—all of her—and couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he was.

She looked a bit like Kikyo, this Kagome. He could dimly see it, but her innocence, her warmth, overpowered any resemblance. Her eyes were a beautiful blue he had never seen on a human before, brought out by the dark line of her eyelashes. Her hair wasn't terribly long but was blue-black even in the dark. Her lips were full and dark pink, very kissable. He wondered what she would taste like. Her nose was small, perfectly aligned with her cheekbones, its end slightly upturned. Her neck was elegant and slender, leading to shoulders of equal fragility. Her clothing was odd, but did nothing to cover the curves he saw. Her breasts weren't large, nor were they small, but perfect for his hands. Her waist was slim and toned, like she spent a lot of her time keeping it that way. Her hips flared suddenly, emphasizing her waist. Her legs were long and muscled, as well, making his mouth almost begin to water as he took in all that was his.

He moved his gaze back to hers.

"We'd better get going before the humans trample us with those damn horses," he rumbled, his voice husky with anticipation. "C'mon."

He lifted her, but she seemed set on walking herself.

He caught her easily when she almost fell after putting weight on her injury, swinging her into his arms despite her fear.

0…0…0

**All right, I'm trying my hand at a riff (or whatever it's called). Give me your input, good, bad, or ugly. Just don't post a review that's rude and totally uncalled for like "You suck at writing" or "Get a life, you idiot." Those will not be appreciated and will end up getting you reported for abuse, or whatever it is FanFiction does to kick people off. Don't cross me on this subject.**

**Also, if you would please rate each chapter with stars (even if you don't plan giving any constructive criticism or compliments), that'd be great. One is lowest, five is highest. I ask only for that at the end of each chapter, so I know how my future faithful readers like their stories to go. You don't have to type "I love this story!" or "OMG, what's going to happen?!" I just want to know how each person feels about the chapters that I post so I know what I need to do better.**

**If you see any mistakes, please let me know. I'm very picky about my writing, so if you see any contradictions, misspellings, misuse of words, I'd like to know so I can fix it. I can't get a Beta because of how randomly I post and my own impatience. Unless someone volunteers for the job, I'm not going to put someone in that position.**

**Thanks for reading.  
**_**SS98**_


	2. Still No Explanations

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately for me, I do not own InuYasha. How very sad for Sayuri.

**Ownage:** I own any character I make up. Just tell me if you plan on using them for anything.

0…0…0

**Chapter Two - Still No Explanations**

_Sometimes, it's better not to know._

0…0…0

The night before, after her ordeal, Kagome had fallen asleep in a hanyou's--who she learned was called "InuYasha"--arms, giving him a small amount of her trust, though it was more from pure exhaustion than belief in his sense of honor. She knew that she didn't want to hurt him--as if she even could!--but he didn't know that. He could have killed her as easily as he had Mistress Centipede!

Still, she slept until Kaede bandaged her wounds, giving her a jewel hung on a string to wear around her neck. Then she was out again. The last thing she heard in consciousness was InuYasha telling Kaede she didn't have to worry about him; until the girl was better, he wouldn't be doing anything other than watching over her.

Her dreams began with the vision of a perfect clearing surrounded by trees, sunlight shining through the leaves as if in a picture. Everything was green and lush as though she were in Eden. But an old well marred nature's pristine domain with its man-made glory. Though it fit into the scene--ivy grew all around the sides--something wasn't right about it. Something about it just didn't…work. But she couldn't remember what it was.

As she stared at the time-worn well, she seemed to be getting closer to it at an alarming rate. Like she was running to it as fast as she could. But what was she running from?

A roar rent the air, shocking her into looking behind her for the culprit.

She was running from whatever had made that noise. She realized that now. But who it was…she couldn't remember. Glancing back, she saw that nothing was there.

Turning, she could feel the breath heaving from her lungs as they labored to keep up with her heartbeat. _I've got to get there! To the well! It's the only thing that will save me!_ Her legs ached from her dash, but she knew she had to get to the safety of the well though that reason also escaped her.

Chancing one last look behind her before she vaulted over the side of the well, she caught sight of a red blur following her. She didn't know who or what it was even as she dug through her mind for the answer. Why was she so frightened of him? Why was he chasing her? How did she even know it was a him? Then the answers hit her…just when she ran into him.

Kagome awoke breathing heavily, though she didn't open her eyes. She couldn't recall what had frightened her so much in her dream, only that she'd been running in a clearing. For a few moments, she tried to find what it was that had scared her so much, but it was locked in her brain. She shrugged it off.

And found that someone had their arms wrapped around her middle, crushing her to a chest that was as hard as granite. Instantly, her eyes flew open to red cloth surrounding her, keeping her warm against the cool breeze that blew her hair slightly.

Her heart beating wildly, Kagome tried to jerk herself away from her captor. Somehow, she knew it was InuYasha. Her mind said to just lay back and appreciate how tightly he held her, but her body wasn't used to this kind of contact. And the sane part of her mind was shouting about how she didn't know him or how they'd ended up wrapped up together.

The moment she tried to move away, InuYasha was wide awake and snarling, upright in a split second and leaning over her…almost _protectively_, like he was afraid for her safety.

With his movement, she flew up, hitting him squarely in the chin with her head. She gave a yelp of pain, sinking away from him. Her hands already went to her head, attentively prodding the bump forming. She noticed angrily that he didn't even seem to notice their head bash. When her eyes caught his, he gave a low curse.

"Damnit," he breathed, standing quickly. He moved to her, a growl echoing in his throat. "I…didn't mean for that to happen. I thought someone scared you."

Her fingers tightened on the cloth that covered her as she prepared herself to start yelling, but noticed in doing so how dangerously _ripped_ her clothes were.

With a gasp, she grabbed the corners of what she saw was InuYasha's haori. Her shirt was torn down the middle, showing her bra and stomach. The handprint made from the heat of his hand was still on her abdomen, showing her exactly how large his hands were. But, for some reason, instead of terrifying her, it excited her. He had such _long _fingers! Her skirt was also ripped just above her left hip, showing the bandage that protected her worst wound. And also gave her a look at how _panty-less_ she seemed to be. Another squeak left her as her gaze slammed up to his.

He stared at her blankly for a moment, not understanding why she was so squeaky. Then it dawned on him what was going on and he flushed red. "You were…uh…hurt and we had to get to the…uhm…gash. No one could figure out how to get your clothes…ah…off. So I just…tore…through them." He coughed, trying to hide a grimace. Swiftly, he righted himself, clearing his throat. "I'll go tell the hag you're up." With that, he left her alone in the one-roomed hut.

She stood, clutching his haori around her. She couldn't go outside in her clothes. Not with the condition they were in.

Eyeing InuYasha's haori, she sighed and began stripping. If she changed fast enough, there was less of a chance of someone seeing her almost completely nude. In record time, she was out of her useless school uniform and into the haori. She tied the excess material behind her back in a large bow, hoping that Kaede would have something else she would be able to change into…soon. But this was the only way she could go outside, so she would just have to deal with the fact that she felt the wind hitting some of her more…private places. If only for a little while, anyways.

She adjusted her loose clothing to better fit her petite frame, starting to go outside.

A large frame blocking the doorway stopped her.

"Where is the miko of this village?" the man who belonged to the large frame bellowed, not even sparing her a glance. "I need the miko!"

Backing away to be able to look him right in the eye, Kagome took in his appearance.

He was tall, almost as tall as InuYasha. He was built like a truck, shoulders reaching out much too far to be believable. His hair was just long enough to hang in his face, but too short to put into a ponytail. It was almost as dark as her own blue-black hair. His eyes were bright green and held a furious glint. His skin was tanned from long periods of time in the sun. His face was covered in sweat from his heavy armor that looked like something out of her History textbook.

Her eyes bore into his when he finally managed to look down at her. She purposely glared at him, annoyed that he would act as if she weren't even there.

"Are you the priestess of this village?" he demanded, returning her glare full force. But then his gaze softened and a grin lifted the corners of his mouth. He leaned down slightly, just enough to show her exactly how much taller than her he was. "Surely you aren't! You are much too beautiful to forever be chaste and unmarried. Could you tell me where your miko for this village is?" After his compliment, his hand absently went to her cheek, caressing it.

She slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me. It isn't any of your business how long I'm 'chaste' anyways." Crossing her arms over her chest, she sniffed disdainfully and looked away, hoping he wouldn't notice the blush that came to her face. "Kaede will be here in a few moments, I suspect. InuYasha wants her to check over my wounds before it gets too much later."

He blinked in confusion at her. Then he straightened, a fierce gleam coming to his eyes. "You're husband allowed you to be injured? He is careless with your safety! Why would you choose someone who cannot care for you?" He crossed his arms over his chest, taking a large step closer to her. "Or was it an arranged marriage?"

"He _isn't_ my husband--though how that is any of your business, I don't know!--and I sustained my wounds of my own free will. He had nothing to do with it. And you can stop asking me about my love life. It's none of your concern." Every step he took, she took one back, watching him warily. Something about how he was sizing her up didn't bode well in her stomach, and she was one to follow her instincts in these situations.

"You aren't married?" _Is that all he hears come out of my mouth?! It's worse than talking to a brick wall!_ He grinned, leaning down to be eye to eye with her. "Then where is your father, girl?" At her perplexed look, he said, "You can't very well expect me to--"

"I don't think any of that is your fucking business, ningen!" a cold, familiar, and totally welcome voice snarled from the doorway that the warrior had been occupying only a few idiotic words before.

The unknown man spun around to face InuYasha, his hand unerringly going to the sword hanging at his hip. "And who do you think you are, hanyou?"

Kagome froze in anger. What gave _him_ the right to talk down to InuYasha?! He had done nothing to him!

"I'm her Mate. So you sure as hell had better get away from her before I kill you." InuYasha's voice, though is words were threatening, was cold as a midnight breeze in the middle of winter.

"You're _Mates_? Why should I believe that when she doesn't have a mark?" The man chuckled, smirking at Kagome. "Would you like me to get this half-breed out of the way so you and I can get back into our conversation?"

Kagome felt a wave of nausea and indignation rise within her at his words. First of all, she didn't feel _safe_ with just him around, so why would she do that? Second, how _dare _this stranger insult someone he didn't even know! It was uncalled for!

Stomping to stand between the men, intending to block InuYasha from lunging at the human man, her vocal tell off was lost when Kaede stepped into the hut. Though the woman had to be weary from the night before, her voice was strong as it rang through the hut.

"InuYasha, don't fight in my home. I won't allow it. This is supposed to be a place of peace." She turned her one-eyed gaze onto the warrior. "I apologize for his rude behavior. Ye are probably tired from your journey. Please, sit." The woman motioned for him to do so.

When Kaede also nodded to Kagome, she collapsed immediately. Her hip was throbbing from standing so long when it hadn't fully closed yet.

But the moment she sat down, the warrior sank down beside her, seating himself close enough for their bodies to brush against each other's.

This brought InuYasha to her rescue.

Standing behind the man who seemed to outweigh him by at least fifty pounds, InuYasha easily shoved him away, ignoring the man's swiftly forthcoming shouts. He sat beside Kagome, putting one protective--or maybe it was possessive--arm around her shoulders. She gladly moved to the safeguard he provided, wondering if that was a purr that left him when she did.

Furious, the other man began to rise, hand once more grabbing for his weapon.

"Here is some tea. It should help if ye are thirsty," Kaede said, halting the man's movements. After he took the cup she offered and reseated himself with a lot of grumbling, she sat as well. "I am the priestess Kaede. Many of the villagers have said that ye were searching for me. I must ask why." She surveyed him stoically, hands folded in her lap. When he didn't respond, she cleared her throat. "Well, if ye will not tell me, I cannot help."

That got him to talk.

"Lady Kaede," he began. "I have to ask for your help. I am a warrior from a nearby village that has been attacked."

Taking another sip of tea, he continued. "You see, my men and I were in battle, fighting with another lord's men to win back our land. We arrived home a month later to find everything in ruins. There were fires everywhere. We tried to save many, but could only get to a few with our injuries. One of the survivors told us that our village's healer--though very inexperienced--had been taken by the thieves that had ransacked our people.

"Following their path, we found that they had killed the healer in those woods." He pointed out the doorway towards InuYasha's forest. "After burying the healer, we rode to avenge her death--she was one of my men's fiancée. But when we found them, we could all tell that their leader was possessed by some kind of demon. We kept hearing the leader sending out orders to get the girl with whom the Shikon no Tama has resurfaced." He stopped for a moment as if expecting them to contradict his statement.

"And this had ye coming here?" Kaede asked incredulously.

"No. It was when several of the men came this way…. They kept saying their boss was crazy, that the Shikon no Tama had disappeared forever fifty years ago." He sighed. "Seems it hasn't, though. My men and I rode just came from following them to warn the village of this. You have to be ready for when they attack."

At his words, everyone tensed. They were going to be _attacked_?

The man looked at Kagome, gauging her reaction.

"Can I help you?" InuYasha growled, his arm tightening around Kagome as his body stiffened more, if that was possible. His nails curled around one of her shoulders, causing her to flinch in fear. Those nails had ripped easily through a demon last night. How would they do against human skin this morning?

Kagome, uncomfortable with the feeling of dread in her stomach, gently shifted away. She didn't like how InuYasha acted so possessive over her. They'd just met the night before! Where had he gotten the idea that grabbing her in front of others was all right?

"I was just wondering what such a beautiful girl like her was doing with such a pathetic creature such as yourself. But now that I see her trying to pull away, I realize that it isn't of her own volition." He slowly rose, drawing his sword to put the tip under InuYasha's chin, tilting his face up. "Let go of the girl."

"Sir!" Kaede shouted as Kagome went rigid next to InuYasha. "Put your sword away!" The old woman stood and had her arrow drawn with astounding speed. "Or I will be forced to shoot ye. I do not allow violence in my home."

"You would allow him to hold her against her will?! Where is her father?! I would like to meet a man who could regard his daughter's safety so callously!" His voice echoed in the small room, shaking the walls.

"That is it!" Kagome yelled, jerking out of InuYasha's tightening grip to stand. "I have had it! First of all, warrior man, my father died a long time ago. So if you want to have a little heart-to-heart chat with him, I'm sure InuYasha over here will _love_ to take care of that for you. Second, I travel alone a great deal of time, and I can take care of myself. I don't rely on anyone else to do so. And third, where do you get off saying that I hang out with bad people when you don't even know him?!" She was breathing heavily and paused to take in a few deep breaths. Her voice was soft and calm with her next words. "Now, tell me your name so I can scold you properly."

The other three inhabitants of the hut stared at her for a moment in stunned silence, perplexed by her outburst.

Then InuYasha--being quite the helpful hanyou--snickered at their guest and said, "Yeah, ningen. Tell her your name so she can yell at you the right way."

Kagome turned on him then. "I'm going to be dealing with _you_ later." Her eyes went back to the warrior just as her hands rested on her hips. "Well? What's your name, all ready?"

He blinked at her for a second, then gave a weak smile. "Please accept my apologies. I did not mean to be so rude. My name is Taru." He bowed slightly. "Now, may I ask for your name, as well?"

"Kagome," she answered absently, eyeing him cautiously.

"And, _Kagome_, where is your family?" His smile became wolfish with his words.

InuYasha leapt to his feet, taking on a defensive pose immediately. "Don't even _think_ about it, human! Go near her and I'll rip your throat out!" His lips pulled back across his fangs in a snarl, and he moved in front of Kagome. "Now I think you should _leave_ before I get really angry."

Taru smiled. "You have no right to tell me whether I can call upon a beautiful girl or not." He looked to Kagome, the glint returning to his eyes. "How do you know such a pitiful creature, Kagome?"

Kagome glared at him furiously. "He saved my life, you pompous--"

"Kagome!" Kaede interjected abruptly, a fake smile plastered to her face. "Ye should take InuYasha out and meet some of the villagers. They would like to thank ye both for leading the youkai away from the village before it could take anyone's life." She looked to Taru. "I will look at your comrades' wounds, now. Just show me to them."

With a brief nod, InuYasha dragged Kagome from the hut, ignoring her struggle to free her wrist. She could hear Taru's protests even as she was surrounded by grateful residents of the village.

0…0…0

InuYasha watched intently from the sidelines as Kagome was swarmed by the villagers. She was so…at ease, acting as though she had known each and every one of those people all of her life. She smiled and chatted, crouching down to talk with the smaller children. Even though they held a deep paranoia of newcomers, the village people accepted her easily.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied both Kaede and Taru walking towards the edge of the tiny town, going to his comrades, no doubt.

He turned his gaze fully on the two when he saw the warrior's eyes fall on Kagome. A telltale gleam of lust filled them. The other man stared at her like a starving man would a large steak. He didn't like it. If that man didn't remove his eyes from--damnit he'd better stop staring at her!

Growling, he stalked after the man, knowing that the warrior was paying too close attention to Kagome to even notice him.

"InuYasha!" Kagome suddenly screamed, waving at him as best she could. "Come over here! These guys want to thank you!"

With one last killing look sent Taru's way, he obeyed his Mate, crossing his arms into their opposite sleeves. Passing through the people a bit forcefully, he got to her side, glaring at the people who dared to do so to him. "What do you want?" he growled to one of the men.

"InuYasha," Kagome said lowly in warning. "They would like to thank you for helping with the demon yesterday." Her jaw was clenched tightly as she put one hand on his shoulder. "This is InuYasha. He's the one who killed Mistress Centipede yesterday." She smiled brightly up at him.

"We know who he be," one man said gruffly. "It doesn't make up for him killing a priestess."

Kagome instantly looked up at him in disbelief. "Y-you…_killed_ a priestess?" Her voice was barely audible as she stared up at him with large blue eyes.

He snarled at the humans, discouraging them from saying anything more. He looked down at Kagome. "I've been pinned to a tree for fifty years. How the hell did I do that?"

She blinked up at him. "Fifty _years_? Just how old are you!" Her eyes went over him from head to toe and back. "You don't _seem_ that old…. Or was that part of the spell?"

He rolled his eyes, hearing a few of the women in the crowd around them snicker. "Demons don't think in terms of human years. We don't have as much trouble with mortality as you humans do. We live for thousands of years before we can die of old age."

Her eyes widened. "Really?" Seeming bursting with energy, she rose to her tip toes, hands going to his shoulders. Leaning in to search his face for signs of age, Kagome said, "Oh! So you could be, like, a hundred years old? You would be _so_ helpful with my History homework!" Her face blanched unexpectedly.

Instantly he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just thought about how scared my family must be that I haven't returned to my home. They must be sick with worry." Her face fell, and she started to turn away.

He grabbed her arm. "I'll take you back to them," he supplied, wondering how her family would react to see her with a hanyou.

She turned back to him, giving him a weak smile. "Thank you." She dropped her gaze. "Now all I have to do is find out _how_ to get home…."

He stifled a laugh. _Well, now we don't have to find out what her family will think_.

"Kagome!" Kaede shouted out of the blue, shocking both Kagome and InuYasha into looking up.

A large crow demon swooped down, nearly latching onto Kagome's head. Fortunately, InuYasha had thrown her out of the way, into the crowd that began scattering.

"Kagome, get out of here! Go to Kaede!" he ordered, watching the crow circle back towards them. "Damnit, go!"

He heard her stumble to her feet before running to the old woman.

Leaping at the crow, he felt his claws rip through it just as a feminine scream broke through the air. He instinctively spun to make sure it wasn't Kagome--_Please don't be her! Please, gods!_--and saw that at least ten men were attacking the village, dressed at bandits. But the odor of corpses and stale sake rolled off them in waves. They couldn't possibly be thinking it was safe to attack a village when they were obviously intoxicated--

A murder of the crows flew out of the trees that the men had just come from, diving to pick up what seemed to be random people from the thick of the unfair battle. Yet somehow InuYasha knew who the target was. And it infuriated him.

Lunging towards her, he shouted, "Kagome!" just as one of the demons dug its talons into his arm, moving upward to fly away with him.

When he saw the men grabbing Kagome--who was unshielded since Kaede had her hands full trying to shoot each of the crows--he yelled, "Damnit, ningen! Protect her!" He searched the ground for Taru and found him pushing through a large blockade of the demons to get to Kagome. At that point, it didn't bother InuYasha--she had to get out of there.

Swinging his arm up, he slashed through the crow, allowing himself to fall. He landed with grace just as the men split into three groups, each of which had Kagome's unmistakable scent mixing with the men's.

He roared his displeasure. "I'll kill them all!" he swore.

Jumping into the trees, he heard Taru yell, "Wait for me, hanyou!"

"I'm not going to be slowed down by you bumbling through the forest! I'll get to her faster on my own!" He leapt into a nearby tree branch. "You keep an eye on the village! I can get Kagome myself." With that, he took off at break-neck speed, following the first trail diligently.

_I'll kill you all before you can even lay another finger on her._

0…0…0

Kagome let out a squeak of pain when she hit the floor of the rotting hut. It stunk of mold, sake, and urine, making her want to vomit. The place was rundown, as though no one had been living there for quite some time. The walls were marred with stains from dried blood, sickening her farther.

"Boss, you wanted this girl?" one of the men that had grabbed her asked. "She sure is a pretty little thing. You sure 'er hus'and won't be real sore af'er what we got planned for 'er?" The group snickered, but the one that had spoken said, "Well, look at 'er. She was probably married to a warrior, er somethin'. Ya know, as a present for winnin' a battle er somethin'."

The men all seemed to quiet at that, regarding his words thoughtfully.

"Bring her to me," a low voice said from the shadows. She moved her head up to see who had spoken, but no one was there.

"Sure thin', Boss," another one said, grabbing her elbow and yanking her up. "Get ov'r there, girl. Boss wants to see ya." He kept his grip on her, tightening it when she tried to pull away. "If ye're nice, Boss might just kill ya af'erwards stead'a sending ya back to yer village."

She glared at him defiantly, but felt real fear in the pit of her stomach. They had traveled for so long through the forest; there was no _way_ anyone had followed them!

"Bring her closer," their boss said. "If she has what I seek…."

Kagome dug her feet into the dirt that made up the floor, struggling against the man until several more grabbed her arms as well, jerking her into the shadows.

Just an inch before she would have been covered in the darkness, she heard the man say, "She has what I want. Hold her still."

Only two men held her then, confused but following orders. "Ya mean ya wanna kill 'er? But look at 'er, Boss!" one whined.

Out of the shadows, a sword came down and she expected it to hit her. Instead, it cut through the whiner.

She gasped and the man holding her let go, choking. Everyone took a step back, away from the madman holding the sword as he stumbled towards them drunkenly.

She saw that their leader was _gigantic_. He was easily over a head taller than the rest of them and broader than anyone else--including Taru--that she had ever seen. He was bald and his eyes looked as if he were still asleep: unseeing, unknowing. She swallowed as she saw drool drip from his mouth just before those beady black eyes settled on her neck…where the jewel Kaede had given her the night before hung on its string.

Kagome sucked breath to scream, dodging the swing of the sword when he brought it down on her. She felt the jewel hit her collarbone and decided that to save herself, she'd have to get rid of it. It was obvious that it was what the man was after.

Ripping it from her neck, she flung it out one of the broken windows, hearing the bandits running around the room as their boss swung blindly at anything that passed in front of him.

The men all ran wildly around the room, not thinking clearly. But each time one of them hit the west wall, it would shake slightly under the impact. It gave her an idea.

"Everyone, hit that wall!" she shouted, pointing to the weak wall. "At the same time!" she added, noting that they weren't the brightest bunch of men.

Each nodded and did so. But the wall still held firm.

"It's no good! It isn't going to budge!" they yelled, drawing her attention from the shadow closing in behind her.

"The Shikon no Tama!" the monstrous man bellowed from behind her.

She spun just in time to see him bringing the sword down on her. She clasped her hands together and prayed that someone would help her.

0…0…0

InuYasha heard Kagome's voice before he saw the hut. Her scent was strong there…as was the stench of death and crow demons.

He moved as fast as he was able, hoping that he would get there before the youkai would get to Kagome.

Breaking through the wall, he burst into the hut, seeing the largest man--the one that stunk of crow--raise his sword to Kagome's back, bellowing, "Shikon no Tama!" before bringing the sword down.

Kagome twisted and saw him nearly slice her.

But InuYasha didn't let him actually do it.

He flew in front of Kagome and kicked the man in the chest, forcing him to fly backward. The sword nicked his arm. _Thank God it's me instead of her. My haori can't protect her very well the way she's wearing it._

"Kagome, take the jewel and get out of here," he growled, holding himself in front of her protectively. "I'll take care of this demon. He'll be easy enough to kill."

"D-demon? But he's just a man!" she breathed, not obeying his direct order.

Snarling, he said, "There's a demon in him forcing him to do this. You remember those crows that flew at everyone in the village? They're part of this one's murder. They killed this gorilla to use his body." He looked at her. "Now leave and take the Shikon no Tama with you."

"Uhm…right…. The jewel…." Her voice drifted off, as did her eyes from his face.

"Don't tell me something happened to it!" he shouted, making her flinch. "Damnit! Get outta here!" He turned his attention back to the man finally rising. "I don't want you to have to see this." With that, he leapt at the man, claws reaching out towards his heart. He felt them slice through vulnerable mortal flesh and hit something much more resilient. _So the crow IS in there_….

But the second he yanked his hand away from the hole he'd made, the youkai flew out, swiftly going out the wall InuYasha had demolished when he burst into the hut. Kagome shrieked, but quickly quieted, breathing heavily.

He went to her side. "Don't be so shocked. You'll see a lot worse stuff here. Besides, everyone's safe since that crow can't get to the jewel."

"Uhm…the crow might be a problem then…."

0…0…0

**I tried to follow the original plot as well as possible, but I couldn't find a way to fit in the prayer beads. I'm going to see if I can't do that next chapter, though, so don't worry. There will be many sits in the future.**

**Also, I own Taru. He's one of my characters and yada yada yada. You'll be seeing more of him. :)**

_**SS98**_


	3. Shattered Jewel

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor do I claim to own, InuYasha and Co. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media. I don't have to money to pay them for him.

**Ownage:** So far, I only own Taru. I will tell you of any characters I make up at the end of the chapter.

0…0…0

**Chapter Three - Shattered Jewel**

_Know that when one door closes, a window opens._

0…0…0

Kagome gave a squeak of surprise when InuYasha flung her onto her back, thrusting a bow and some arrows at her. "W-what am I supposed to do with these?"

"Shoot the damn thing down! If it merges completely with the jewel, it'll be too late. It's already swallowed it, so shoot the damn arrow!" He jostled her as if it would make her go faster.

The truth was, she'd never touched a bow in her life. Though her grandfather had wanted her to take archery, she'd put it off until both had forgotten about it. She had no practice and couldn't hit the bird standing still, much less with InuYasha running as he was.

Suddenly, she felt him stop. _So he's going to give me a chance to get a clear shot? Thank--_- Just as quickly as he'd halted, he leapt into the air, making Kagome scream.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of fucking heights! Damnit, are you good for anything?!" he shouted, his hold on the backs of her thighs tightening. "You'd better get over whatever you're afraid of! That thing's about to be too far away for you to even get near it with an arrow!"

Sick of his rudeness, she quickly aimed an arrow at the bird. _Please hit. Please._ She pulled the bowstring tight and released the arrow, watching in astonishment as it flew straight for the bird, pushed on by a beautiful streak of purple light. It cut through the air perfectly, making a direct path for the youkai…then fell flat only a little ways away from it.

InuYasha, disbelieving that he had just witnessed a miko _missing with a bow and arrow,_ fell to the ground, slamming his face into the dirt. She had…missed. Kaede had told him of her deep-seated belief that Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation and she had…missed a shot. It couldn't possibly be right! Kikyo was a skilled archer, easily hitting a target moving much faster than herself. He'd never seen her miss what she was aiming for.

But Kagome had just missed what should have been an easy target!

"Damnit, girl, what the hell's wrong with you?! Kikyo could have hit that without a problem!"

"I'm not Kikyo, you idiot!" she returned, standing from where he lay on his stomach. "I'm Kagome. Ka-go-me. And I told you, I've never used a bow in my life!"

He snarled, a retort on his tongue, until he saw that she wasn't even paying any attention to him. Instead, she was already making her way back to the village, following the crow at a run. He stood, perplexed. _Shouldn't she be trying to run _away_ from something that just recently tried to kill her…?_

Shaking his head, he went after her, scooping her onto his back once more.

When she tried to wriggle away, he said, "I can get you to the village faster than you can yourself. So don't even start with me."

She gasped, the scent of indignation rising on her, but agreed quietly.

He ran, both of them silent, to the village, but stopped when he saw the river. The crow was swooping down towards a woman and her child just as they reached the edge of the water.

"My son!" the woman cried when the crow snatched him from her hand, carrying him high in the air. She raced towards them, but was stopped by her husband, who wrapped his arms around her. InuYasha knew he was telling her that someone would save their son, though he wouldn't believe it himself.

Leaping once more into the air, InuYasha slashed through the bird, knowing that the jewel would make it regenerate. He landed on the other side of the river, setting Kagome down so she could find the jewel. "Where is the damned jewel?!"

She ignored him to inhale sharply before diving into the water. He watched where she went--_how is a human moving that fast in the water?_--and saw she intended to save the child. _The jewel, you idiot! Get the damned jewel!_

She swam to the other riverbank, bringing the boy with her. Villagers surrounded her and the boy, bringing them both onto the bank.

Correction: _Taru_ brought them both onto the riverbank. He leaned over Kagome, checking her arms and legs for injury, too closely for InuYasha not to snarl in fury.

She pried them away from him--_good, now he knows not to fucking touch her_--and looked back to InuYasha.

"Where's the jewel?!" he shouted across the roaring waters, furious. She'd abandoned the jewel _and_ had another man handling her. There was only so much he could take, damnit!

She lifted her nose at him and turned away, allowing Taru to take her elbow to lead her back to the village.

Pure rage rose in InuYasha. _Damn that woman. How the hell do I get her to look for the jewel…._ As though it had heard his thoughts, the crow's body began to regenerate, each of the pieces coming together.

"Wench, the demon's being put back together! You have to get the jewel out of it or it'll just go after the humans again!" InuYasha shouted, knowing that if she would risk the waters between them to save just the boy, she would do her best to get the jewel if it would save the entire village.

Instantly, she twisted--though she still glared at him--and caught sight of the demon putting itself back together, rising out of the water. She took a step back with a sharply inhaled breath but quickly composed herself.

The boy cried once more, trying to snatch something off his shoulder. Kagome plucked it off, though InuYasha still couldn't tell what it was.

He saw her go to one of the men of the village and gently take his bow and one arrow from him.

He looked up and saw that the bird was too far away for it to help anything.

_Too fucking late, girl! The bird's gone! You couldn't hit it from up close and you expect--is that the thing's _foot_?!_

She had strapped the foot onto the arrow, aiming straight for the bird. Letting go of the arrow, it curved in the air, flying elegantly through the air, but she had let go of the bowstring when her arrow had ducked a little from the pressure. It wouldn't get _near_ the bird, especially at this distance.

But at the last moment, it surprised everyone: her arrow curved upward and it seemed like it was being…pulled to the crow. How could she do that?

Then he remembered: the youkai was being regenerated by the jewel. The foot, because of the jewel, would go straight back to the crow, which would bring the purifying arrow with it. He turned his gaze to her. If she had figured that out all on her own, she was a smart girl, though she didn't seem to care much for Taru's life: he had grabbed her around the waist to lift her over a small hole. And she _let him_.

Furious, InuYasha forgot about the jewel for a moment and leapt over the river in one jump, landing just behind them. "Goddamnit, ningen, don't fucking touch her!"

Taru turned both him and Kagome back to face InuYasha, but a sudden purple-pink light stopped them all from yelling or fighting. The horrified look on Kagome's face caused the hanyou to turn his head just in time to see the Shikon no Tama split into tiny pieces, spreading throughout the area with mesmerizing streaks of purple beams, arching against the sky.

In stunned incredulity, InuYasha's mind began to race haphazardly with questions he might never know the answer to.

_How the hell did she manage to crack the damn Shikon no Tama?! I saw demons shooting arrows at it all the time while it was in Kikyo's care and nothing had managed to break it! Hell, I even sliced at it with my claws! If we couldn't do it, how the fuck did a puny _ningen_ do it?!_

He stared as shard after shard lit the sky beautifully, creating an illusion of sunset.

His senses returned swiftly, fury rising.

"You've got to be fucking _kidding me_!" he shouted after the moment of disbelief had passed. He turned on Kagome once more. "Goddamnit, miko!" He stalked towards her even as Taru blocked his path. "Move it human. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit."

Taru crossed his arms over his massive chest. "You'd better not even _think_ about it, _hanyou_. I won't let you touch her."

"Did I give you a choice?" With that, he grabbed the warrior's shoulder and shoved him brutally away, hearing in his subconscious the sound of him hitting the bridge, causing it to collapse. "Damnit, wench," he began ferociously. "You'd better hope that that jewel can be put back together."

She looked up at him bravely, though her indecision wavered in her eyes. "Fine. If you don't want to know the good news about this, then."

He raised an eyebrow at her in question.

"First, the crow's dead so he can't eat the villagers. Second," she raised her closed fist to his eye level. Opening it, palm up, she showed him a small shard of the jewel. "I caught one of the shards."

0…0…0

Later, Taru walked into the head priestesses' hut, watching two mikos and a hanyou sitting around a small fire, talking about what had occurred. Cracking his sore back, he moved to take his spot between the mikos, ignoring the half-breed's snarl of warning. "I would like to know what happened today."

The darkness outside the window crept into the small lighted area, the flames growing weaker. Kaede stood. "I will tell ye when I return with the fire wood." She walked out of the hut, seeming worried.

He looked to Kagome for answers. "What happened to the Shikon no Tama today? Is it reversible?"

The young girl sighed before looking back to him. She had redressed into proper miko garb, giving InuYasha his haori back. "I broke it. That's about all we know. There could be any _number_ of shards out there and we wouldn't know we had them all until we had them. There could be hundreds, there could be thousands, or there could be two. We can't be sure until we get individual shards." Another sigh left her. "This isn't going to help my chances of getting home."

He raised an eyebrow at that, glanced at InuYasha from over her head. He was studying her intently, gold eyes watching every breath she took carefully. _Could it be true that a miko--a pure maiden--is the Mate of a half-breed? I was led to believe that demons only mated with other youkai! Maybe it has something to do with his human blood…._ His thoughts stopped abruptly when the creature glared up at him, snapping his teeth at him. His features were transformed slightly, faint markings pulsing on his face. Those hadn't been there before…nor had the dark marks lining his eyes. _Could this man be more demon than I thought?_

Turning up his nose slightly, he moved his gaze back to Kagome, who's eyes went from him to the hanyou and back frantically. "Should I even ask what kind of silent male conversation was just taking place?"

Leaving neither of them time to answer, Kaede stepped into the room again, holding an armful of wood. "Do not hurt yourself again, Taru. You either, Kagome. Your hip hasn't yet healed. Sit back down," she commanded when they rose to help her. She moved slowly towards the other side of the room, stumbling slightly.

"Go help her, hanyou," Taru ordered fiercely, knowing that InuYasha wouldn't listen to him.

When the half-breed opened his mouth to tell him what to do with his self-assured request, Kagome turned to him--undoubtedly to reprimand him.

But she surprised him once more.

In an innocent voice--there was no deception in her tone--Kagome asked, "InuYasha, would you please help her?"

With a lot of grumbling, he rose, scooping all of the wood out of Kaede's arms and bringing it easily to the corner of the room, dropping it uncaringly. "There," he growled, walking over with two small logs to put into the fire. "Happy?" he snarled as he plopped down next to Kagome once more, watching her face intently.

She smiled at him and yawned. "Yes. Thank you." Her eyelids began to droop, another yawn coming from her. When her body started to sway, InuYasha wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her into his side. Too exhausted to protest, she leaned her head onto his shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

Though jealousy bit at his heart, Taru turned back to Kaede, who sat down next to him. "May we have the story now, miko?"

She cleared her throat. "I can tell you only my theories on it." She looked him in the eye. "First, I don't know how Kagome was able to _break_ the jewel when no other could _scratch_ it. I cannot explain such things. But I do believe that her power scattered it in many different places, sending shards all across the area, if not farther."

Taru looked back at the sleeping girl, wondering how such a tiny person could hold enough power to shatter the Jewel of Four Souls. If not even demons had been able to _score_ its surface, how had she been able to achieve the impossible?

"Where did she come from?" he asked, remembering her continually talking about "home." Wasn't _this_ her home?

"She says she came from the dry well in the Forest of InuYasha and that she lives in Toe-key-oh. But I cannot believe that she came from the dry well since nothing that has ever gone in has ever come out. The Bone-Eater's Well has the power to extinguish youkai bones in less than a day. So how could such a fragile girl appear from it?"

"She has great spiritual powers, if I heard correctly."

"Ah, yes, that she does." Kaede looked at the young girl fondly, noticing the hanyou's relaxed position beside her. She knew he was listening intently, deciding to keep his opinions to himself. _Could this be the InuYasha I remember from my childhood?_

Gazing back at the warrior, she continued. "I believe she is the reincarnation of my late sister, Kikyo, who died after pinning InuYasha to the Goshinboku."

"And you feel no anger towards him?"

"Of course I feel some resentment towards him; I am only human, after all. Though I am beginning to question it, he is believed to be the one who struck down my sister then returned to our village to steal the jewel."

"How is it that Kagome is her reincarnation? How do you know?"

"Ye must know the story of my sister's death before ye will understand.

"She was young, but looked much older than her years. She met InuYasha one day and soon he was always around her, whether he was trying to hide it in the village or standing next to her by the river. Anyone could see that they were both lonely souls, needing something from one another."

InuYasha snarled from the corner. "That bitch?! She betrayed me, damnit! She pinned me to a tree for _fifty years_! The only reason I'm even out of that damn spell is because of--" He stopped, not knowing what else to say.

"I have theories about that, as well." Kaede turned back to Taru. "After awhile, I thought nothing of my sister leaving our home early to meet him. But one morning I had a premonition of sorts. I knew that something would go wrong that day. Sister Kikyo was acting strange, dazing in and out daydreams constantly. That wasn't like her. She was focused a lot of the time, barely relaxing even when she slept.

"That day, a demon attacked the village. It was InuYasha. He went to where the jewel was kept when it wasn't around Kikyo's neck. He then ran from the village into the forest, no doubt to make his wish upon the jewel." She looked over at InuYasha. "Kikyo followed through the village soon after. Her clothes were soaked in blood, her shoulder savagely torn. I and the rest of the villagers pursued her into the forest, getting there in time to see her pin InuYasha to the tree. Then she collapsed to the ground." The old woman's eye filled with tears. "I ran to her.

"I pleaded with her to allow us to help her. It would take time for her wound to heal, but she could have lived through it. She told me no, that it was her time to go. Then I was ordered to burn the Shikon no Tama with her body. With that, she fell to the ground and died."

Everything was silent in the small room. InuYasha's glare softened and Taru could read in the way he held Kagome tighter that he was glad she wasn't awake for the tale. _Of course not; what woman in her right mind would stay with a man who killed an innocent?_

Sighing, Kaede closed her eyes and went on. "The Shikon no Tama, as ye know, disappeared for fifty years, seemingly destroyed." Opening her eyes, she leveled them on Kagome. "When Kagome was attacked by Mistress Centipede, the jewel emerged from a wound in her body. And then she used an unbelievable amount of spiritual power to throw the youkai away from her, forcing it to crash into some trees. The trees--many of which were centuries old--were broken like branches. That kind of power I have only seen in one other miko: my sister."

"Doesn't mean she's a fucking reincarnation of that bitch," InuYasha snarled restlessly, his voice raised.

Kagome's eyes flashed open and she flung herself upright, looking around the room in groggy disconcertion. She blinked a few times before fully awakening. "What's going on?" she asked quickly, looking at each shadow suspiciously.

"Go back to sleep, Kagome," InuYasha commanded rudely, pulling her back to him. He didn't glance down at her. "Just dragging back old memories."

She blinked at him, then turned to Kaede. "What old memories?"

"Nothing that you should care about, goddamnit!"

Taru chose that moment to jump in. "We are discussing InuYasha's and Kikyo's deaths and how one led to the other." He smirked at InuYasha's angry growl. "She deserves to know everything about her _Mate_, doesn't she?" His eyes glittered with challenge.

The hanyou rose, arm leaving Kagome. With a dark look towards the warrior currently plaguing him, he stormed from the hut, nearly breaking it down with his heavy footfalls.

Kagome looked to Kaede in confusion. "What has him so agitated?"

Kaede relayed the story to the younger woman, gauging every reaction the girl gave. _She doesn't act as though it bothers her_, Taru noted. _She just takes it all in with a nod and ponders it for but a moment._

At the end of the story, Kagome pursed her lips. "But that can't be right at all. Have you seen how InuYasha acts each time Kikyo is brought up? He couldn't possibly have wounded her as you all seem to believe he did." She brought a finger to her chin, tapping it against the soft skin there. "But why does everyone believe he did so? That is what I'm wondering."

Taru's eyes widened at her first question. "He curses her whenever he gets the chance!"

"But have you seen his eyes? They get this…I don't know…hurt look in them. He couldn't have done it with a clear conscience. He probably would have killed himself if he had!" He could practically see her mind working. Glancing up at Kaede, she asked, "Are you sure it was InuYasha who struck Kikyo?"

"She demanded to know why he would betray her before she died. I cannot see why she would say that unless he was the cause of her death."

"But that doesn't make any _sense_."

0…0…0

InuYasha sat on a tree limb, on leg dangling while he had the other bent for his chin to rest on. He stared towards the noticeable tip of the Sacred Tree, mind wandering.

_Kikyo said that _I _betrayed _her_? Damnit, how could I have done that if I was so in love with her? I was even willing to become a worthless mortal for her! But she thinks that I would strike her?_ He paused in his thinking. _Does_ Kagome _believe that I could have done that?_

His mind was so full, he didn't notice when a small form climbed the tree until he heard a feminine voice say, "All right, this is totally _not_ working." He looked down to see Kagome at the base of the tree, her knees and palms imprinted from the bark of the tree. Raising an eyebrow, he waited for her explanation.

She shrugged, understanding his unspoken thoughts. "I tried climbing up. I'm not much of a climber." She eyed the trunk suspiciously. "Unless you rigged this thing somehow. I've never had much trouble with trees before now." Her hands on her hips, she turned that look up at him. "How did you get up there anyways?"

"I jumped."

She seemed surprised for a few moments before regaining her equilibrium. "Well, you should jump right back down now."

He threw her a yeah-right look before returning his line of vision to the horizon.

"Fine then. I'll just go back to the hut and sleep." She paused. "Actually, I don't think I will. Taru has been cordially invited to stay there with us and he kinda creeps me out." Pause. "Well, I guess he kinda has his moments."

Snarling, InuYasha leapt down. "That ningen had better not be doing anything to you!" he shouted furiously.

"Ah, good, you've come down." She patted his cheek playfully. "Now there's no point for you to go back up. Come on; let's go somewhere and talk." She grabbed one of his wrists and tugged forcefully, expecting him to follow after her. When she just bounced right back towards him, she gave him a threatening glare. "I want to talk to you about all this stuff. From the 'Mate' thing to the Kikyo thing." Her eyes narrowed even more. "And I _will_ get my answers, even if I have to beat them out of you."

He raked his gaze over you, stating without words that he thought he might be able to take her down in a fight of physical strength.

Glower intensifying, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Shut up. I could totally beat you in a fight. Believe it."

A small chuckle left him at her devious look. On her face, it seemed to be having the opposite affect than the desired one she had thought it would.

She grinned. "So you _do_ know how to laugh. I didn't think you had it in you." While he contorted his features back into a scowl at the unexpected words, she tugged him along, winning the battle only because of his wandering thoughts. She led him into the forest until they reached the Goshinboku. She sat them both down, his back to the tree trunk. "Now," she said, "I want to know _your_ side of your death. Tell me what happened with you."

He gave her a stern look. "I'm not going to tell you about that."

She raised an eyebrow, watching him for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine. That one can wait. We'll move on to how you believe that we're 'Mates'. I have no idea what that means, so you'd better give me the whole story. From facts to personal opinions. Anything counts."

He rolled his eyes, covering his embarrassment with aggression. Folding his arms into his sleeves, he said, "First of all, you don't get to choose who you mate. It's all told by the youkai involved. Or the hanyou." He stopped, obviously thinking over the next words to say. He looked away from her. "Usually, demons and humans aren't Mates. Usually, it's just youkai. And they can tell who is their Mate by using any of their senses. It depends on which sense is most powerful to their kind.

"Like water demons. They go by sight because their eyesight is so strong since they live under water. Bat demons--and others that usually only come out at night--use hearing. Dragons have to feel their Mate to know for sure. I don't know of any kind that use taste besides bug demons, but they rarely mate. Still others use scent--like me." His eyes moved back to her, wondering how she was taking all this information.

She nodded, encouraging him to go on. When he didn't, she asked impatiently, "And…? What does being mated _mean_? How do you know if a youkai or whatever is mated at all? I mean, you can't take some other guy's Mate, right?"

_Great. I had been hoping that she would get it with the whole "mated" thing. Damnit, she wants me to explain it to her?!_ "Well, being Mates is a lot like…uhm..." He stopped once more, wondering what she would understand. He snapped his fingers when the obvious answer hit him. "It's a lot like you humans getting 'married'." He watched her eyes widen and her mouth drop open in shock. "What? What'd I say?"

"You said it's like getting _married. _Only you don't get to _choose_ who you're mated to." She scooted away from him. "You expect me, when I'm only _fifteen_, to get _married_?! You'd better think again!" She stood swiftly, turning to flee.

His hand shot out to grab her wrist, jerking her to sit down next to him. "Oh no you don't! You wanted to know what I was talking about and now I have to tell you the rest. Then it'll be outta the way and we can get over all this stupid shit." At her panicked look, he growled, "No, you aren't getting away from this. You wanted to know, I'll damn well tell you."

Pulling her arm towards him, he asked, "Now, what was the other question you asked?" When she locked her mouth closed, he felt his lip begin turning up at her childish stubborn attitude. "Come on, Kagome; ask me again."

She glared at him. "I swear, I'm going to get you back for this!" Sighing in annoyance, she asked once more, "How do you know if someone is already someone else's Mate?"

"The male will bite into where the female's neck meets her shoulder to make a scar. We call it getting marked." Smelling her sudden spike of fear, he added quickly, "It doesn't hurt her, though. I mean, usually a Mate is marked when…uh…well, when they're both…uhm--"

He was cut off when Kaede began running towards them, Taru close behind. The old priestess's face was contorted in urgency. "InuYasha! Kagome! There's something wrong with some of the village girls! Come quickly!"

The two looked at each other then jumped up, InuYasha scooping Kagome up onto his back before running to get to Kaede.

"What do you mean, something's wrong with them? Are they sick?" the hanyou demanded impatiently. He tilted his face upward, sniffing the wind.

"Do you think she would have come to us if they were just sick, InuYasha? We have to go to the village!" Kagome pointed her finger helpfully towards where they had come from. "We have to help them!" When he didn't move, she squeezed him with her legs. "Get a move on! Something's got to be really wrong if Kaede can't take care of it herself."

He growled something in annoyance then raced into the trees, ignoring Taru's and Kaede's protests to slow down.

They skidded to a swift stop when they caught sight of the homes, none of which had any candles lit.

_This can't be good. Everyone keeps at least _one_ candle lit at night. And I can smell blood. Human blood._

"InuYasha, are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick," Kagome said, watching his face as best she could from over his shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just hang on." With that, he took off once more, going much faster than before. She gasped and clutched his back tighter, practically cutting off circulation to his legs in the process. He knew from her scent that she would be yelling at him soon, if not immediately after she got off his back.

_Bring it on. I'm in the mood for a good argument._

But all thoughts left her when he stopped in the village; he could smell a youkai now. Though he couldn't discern what species it was, it was definitely female and was using _something_ for her dirty work. And from the odor of deadly intent, she wasn't taking any prisoners.

"InuYasha, why's there a hair on your shoulder?"

He looked down to his shoulder, seeing nothing. "What do you mean? I don't see any hair!"

"Right here." She lifted her hand from his shoulder. "Can't you see it?" She paused for a moment. After that brief interlude of silence, she let out a squeak. "It…it moved! It wrapped around my hand!" She tugged on her hand, but her arm shot over his shoulder, jerking her against his shoulder. He put one arm around her waist, holding her still, about to reprimand her, but suddenly she flew over his shoulder bodily, seeming to fly through the air.

"Kagome!" he shouted, leaping towards her. He was cut off when something wrapped around his arms and legs, stopping his rescue quickly and efficiently. "Goddamnit, Kagome! What's going on?!"

She screamed his name, but was slammed into the forest, taking him from her view. He could smell her fear; adrenaline began to pump through him as his rage burst to the surface on his consciousness. "Don't fucking touch her!" he yelled as he yanked at the invisible bonds. "Don't touch my Mate!"

"_I am not touching her, hanyou. I don't need to."_

He roared, fighting against whatever held him locked in place. "I'll kill you for hurting her!" He pulled with all his might, but it didn't matter. Whatever had held him was gone now and he was able to move.

"_There's no point for you to come. I will take the jewel shard she holds and then kill her. Half-breed scum like yourself can't even hope to save her now."_

The voice seemed to be surrounding him. _Where is that damn voice coming from, anyways?!_ He blindly slashed at the shadows, hearing Taru and Kaede return.

"InuYasha! Watch out for the girls!" Taru ordered furiously. "They're under some kind of spell!"

"What girls?!" As soon as the question left his mouth, he saw the village girls rise from the same shadows he had been attacking, each seeming unconscious, but still holding weapons. "Where the fuck did these girls come from?! I have to get to Kagome, damnit!"

He fought his instincts so as not to harm them permanently while they assaulted him. _I just have to get them to stay the fuck down so I can get to Kagome! They block every time I try to get away!_

His mind wandered to Kagome, silently willing her to hold on. _Fight the demon, Kagome. I'll be there as soon as I can._

0…0…0

**So, this is chapter three. Not sure how I like it myself, having reread it several times. I told you it followed the series!**

**Also, I have a poll on my profile concerning Taru's role in this story. If you would please vote, I'd be really grateful. I just want to know what should happen with the character.**

**Thanks again.  
**_**SS98**_


	4. Meeting Your MotherInLaw

**Disclaimer:** I do not own, nor do I claim to, InuYasha and Co. They belong to their respective owners.

**Ownage:** I own Taru. Whoo (in a not-so-much kind of way)!

0…0…0

**Chapter Four - Meeting Your Mother-In-Law**

_When meeting someone new, one must remember to be polite and eloquent._

0…0…0

Kagome thrashed wildly against the hair wrapped around her, feeling it cut her steadily. She let out a small mew of pain before relaxing her body. Maybe she could just slip from it….

But before her body could slide through it, she was suddenly face to face with…a girl.

Her eyes widened and surveyed the woman. Her hair was a short bob, cut just below her chin and the color of midnight. It was just…black. She wore a band in it, holding back the hair from her face. Her eyes were a strange violet and slanted slightly downward at her nose. Her clothes were made of something close to leather, barely covering her. The neckline was past her breasts while the skirt came to a screeching halt just before it would become nothing more than a shirt. There was a slim red belt around her middle to match the band in her hair.

"You certainly are an odd priestess, allowing yourself to be captured by a youkai," the girl taunted. Her long finger went to Kagome's chin, lifting her face up to better evaluate it. "Shouldn't you have better honed skills than that?" She snickered. "Or are you one of those mikos that has miniscule purification powers but has deadly aim? Ha!"

Kagome felt the bindings slump and go limp, letting her move her arms and legs.

Seeing her confusion, the demon said, "Since you seem to have little power without your bow and arrows, what's the point of killing you when you're bound?"

Kagome, breathing heavily, thrust out her hand, hoping she could do what she had done to Mistress Centipede once more. She could feel the power pulsing through her hand and into the demon's neck, throwing both of them backwards. Slamming against the side of the well, Kagome shakily stood, breathing heavily as the demon girl began to laugh softly. The young girl's mind raced, wanting nothing more than to wake up and find that it had all been a horrible nightmare. _Even if this is a nightmare, where is InuYasha?!_

Her hand caught the edge of the well as she tried to hold all her weight up, her vision blurring slightly. _I…I have to get home. But…how do I…do that?_ As she felt her eyes drifting closed, she saw that the demon was coming towards her with an arrogant stride.

"Oh, but you are a tricky one!" the girl laughed, as Kagome fought to stay conscious. Suddenly, a katana was pressed beneath her chin, lifting her face up. She felt a small trickle of blood come from her throat because of the sharp point of the blade and flinched unnoticeably. "You forget, miko, that I know a good deal of those tricks! I have been around the block quite a few times, my dear."

"I'm not from here," she bit out quietly, trying not to show how frightened she was of what the demon planned to do with her. The girl didn't hold the katana—hairs did. They were attached to her long, slender fingers as if they were the strings to a puppet. They suddenly grew taught, taking the youkai's attention from the girl in front of her.

"Well, it seems that friend of yours—the hanyou?—is quite feisty. I believe I'll have to kill you quickly. Then I will go take care of him and everything will be peachy!" The smile she gave Kagome showed all of her teeth as she brought up the katana, waving it in front of the young priestess's face. "Hmm, now, would you like to close your eyes or do you prefer to watch? I know some of my victims don't want to see their blood spilling onto the ground, but"—the youkai shrugged—"to each his own and all that."

Hoping to keep the demon occupied, Kagome swallowed harshly, fighting back the darkness that invaded her vision. _Stall…. InuYasha will get here, so just _distract her_!_ "C-can't I know your name before you kill me? It would let me rest more…peaceably." She played on the demon's obvious affliction for drawing things out and seeming merciful.

"Oh!" the female youkai breathed. "Thank _you_ for reminding me!" With a great bit of show, she rose in the air, spinning in a quick circle. "I am Yura of the Hair. Immortal by all standards!" She floated down in front of Kagome's face. "And what would _your_ name be?"

"I'm…Kagome of…Tokyo," Kagome answered, shaking her head swiftly to shake away the chains of unconsciousness.

"Tokyo? I have never heard of such a thing before." Yura tapped her chin thoughtfully with one slender finger. "Are you sure that is the correct pronunciation?"

Kagome nodded, slowly sliding away from where the katana pressed into her throat. Yura saw the movement and raised the sword.

"Oh, but you are a sneaky one!" As Kagome continued to slide away, Yura's eyes narrowed. "Where do you think you're going?"

With the spitting question, she slashed the katana forcefully down. To duck the blow, Kagome leaned backwards, unknowingly toppling herself into the well. She let out a small scream as she felt herself falling, trying valiantly to hold onto something. She didn't know what to expect at the bottom of the well; she could be pierced by the bones of Mistress Centipede or disappear as Kaede had said would happen. _No, Kagome, don't be a pessimist. You _will_ land safe and sound at home and everyone will tell you this was all a dream! There's no such thing as demons, spells, or Mates! You're just in a bad dream!_

When she landed at the bottom of the well, she looked up, expecting to see Yura's taunting face but instead…she saw a light shining down on her just before she heard her name yelled by…Mama? Her mother couldn't be near Yura or InuYasha…there was no way….

Her mind went black as she heard something hit the side of the well and her mother began climbing down.

0…0…0

Though his conscience told him he should have gone easier on the ningen girls, he'd known he hadn't had much of a choice; they had just kept getting back up whenever he'd pushed them away.

He left Kaede and Taru to deal with the unfortunate humans, racing into the forest, following Kagome's scent through the trees, passing by the Goshinboku with a small twinge of regret. But he had to keep his mind on finding his Mate and getting her out of harm's way. He could think of the past some other time.

He skidded to a stop when he saw a scantily dressed woman straddling the Bone Eaters' well, bent over to look into it. He could still smell Kagome, though it was quickly fading. _What did she do to her, damnit?!_

"How odd," the girl said, speaking to herself. "She doesn't seem to be down there anymore." She shrugged before jumping off the sides of the well. "At least I got the Shikon--" she was cut off when she spun around to find him directly behind her, his lips pulled back in a snarl. "Oh, hello." She blinked large purple eyes at him. Then she gasped. "Such beautiful hair! But it looks very unattended. How could you not take care of it properly?!"

Ignoring her statement, he snapped his teeth impatiently. "What did you do with Kagome?" he growled, baring his fangs in warning. Something about her…wasn't right. She smelt of human blood and…hair. He couldn't smell if she was youkai, as she acted, or if she was just a murderous ningen.

She tilted her head to one side in confusion for a moment, then bounced up and said happily, "Oh, her! Well, I was going to kill her, you know, after I took the jewel fragment from her, but she fell into the well instead! Wait. Are you the hanyou who was with her earlier? InuYasha, is it?"

"How do you know my name?" he demanded, crowding closer to her, expecting her to back away at his intimidation technique.

Instead, she flew up to stand on…nothing and said, "I think she may have called for you once or twice, but otherwise there have been a few…rumors going around about the son of the Great Dog Lord being revived or whatever. I truly couldn't care less who you are. If you don't have a jewel shard, I have no problem with you." She tensed to jump away.

He did the same, launching himself to slash at her with his claws, missing by mere centimeters as she leapt away.

"Why, you!" she breathed. "Don't cut that hair! I need it to stay up here, dog!"

_Hair?_ The question rang in his head. _I don't see any fucking hair!_

"If I didn't have previous engagements, I would have to kill you now! But it will have to wait; I'm trying to keep to a strict schedule these days." With that, she was gone, disappearing before he could think to track her.

Scenting the area surrounding him, the inu hanyou moved towards the well cautiously, half expecting a trap. When he didn't sense anything threatening coming at him, he dipped his head towards the opening of the well. He saw straight to the bottom, but there was no sign of Kagome.

_But her scent…. I can smell her scent strongest down there…._

Deciding to investigate this phenomenon, InuYasha hauled himself over the edge and allowed his body to fall. Instead of hitting the dirt as he had expected, a sudden feeling of weightlessness overtook him, making him take in his surroundings. He caught a brief glance of purple before his feet met the bottom of the well at last. _Funny, I didn't think it was really that deep._

Leaping out, he was a bit taken back by what he saw. He was…inside a hut. And there were _stairs_ in it. He couldn't see a door, though. _How the hell am I going to get out?_

As he scented the air, he caught Kagome's aroma leading up the stairs. She must have been nearby because the smell was practically overwhelming to him. Taking all the steps in one leap, he looked at the wall in front of him and saw a crack of light. He put one finger in it and pulled, surprised when the wall slid away from him. Watching it cautiously, he was suddenly hit with the strong odor of hot metal and lightning…but there weren't any clouds. Confused, he looked around, but there was still no sign of a storm.

Pushing his confusion to the back of his mind, he diligently went back to searching for Kagome, though it didn't take him long. As he neared what had to be a lord's home, he glanced up, smelling Kagome above him. With one jump, he landed beside a window that had been left wide open. Kagome was definitely in there.

Just before he moved inside the room, a sudden roar shocked him, making him spin around, still vicariously on his perch. He watched as metal _things_ moved swiftly past the hut, tensing to go attack them. But when none seemed to be coming for the hut, he pushed that aside, also. He wouldn't waste his time doing away with stupid metal beasts that didn't try to hurt him first.

Turning around, he sank into the room, a little astonished by what he saw.

The walls were pale blue and covered with oddly realistic and shiny paintings. There were two doorways, one slightly ajar revealing a smaller room. _A servant, maybe?_ The question quickly left his mind when he peeked inside, seeing many clothes, a lot like the things he had taken off her that first night. Closing the door--all he had to do was push it--InuYasha watched the rest of the room.

There was a desk with a weird thing perched on it, smelling a lot like lightning. _How the hell is there a storm in _that_ tiny thing? If it wasn't made out of metal, I'd think it was a plant!_ Ignoring it, he saw quite a few scroll-like objects with hard covers next to the contraption, ignoring them. They didn't smell like anything other than paper and ink.

Another glance around laid his eyes on Kagome's prone form that lay across her bed. She was on top of the blanket instead of under it. The sight made him wary; it showed that someone had brought her here, most likely when she was asleep. Moving towards her, eyes and ears alert to everything around him, he leaned down to take in her full scent. He caught no trace of poison or anything of that sort. That knowledge made him relax slightly.

What he saw when he focused on her face made him furious at whoever had done this to her. She looked as though she were having a bad dream, a small whimper leaving her throat as one of her hands fisted in the blankets.

Swearing a painful death to whoever had done it to her, he slowly moved on the bed, hoping to let her sleep longer. Crawling over her, he sat down and pulled her into his lap, cradling her close to his chest. She instantly curled towards him. Her fingers even curled into his haori, clutching it with surprising strength.

He could see her neck perfectly from her position and had to stifle a groan. His body was demanding he mark her then to push her instincts into her consciousness. Of course, he couldn't be sure that she would have the same instincts as other youkai Mates, since she was the only one he knew to be human, besides his mother. She might just think the marking was barbaric. He knew many humans thought of it as such. But to youkai--and hanyou--it was an intricate part of becoming Mates.

Any male with demon blood--even the smallest amount--could detect his Mate immediately using one of his senses, as InuYasha had told Kagome. But that didn't make it official. A mate-mark had to be placed on the female to make sure no other male could take her. For youkai, the bite mark would push all mating instincts to the forefront. It was a lot like an aphrodisiac. But for humans, it could be totally different. The only other human Mate he had ever heard of was his mother, and he hadn't been old enough to understand mating when she died.

But some part of her had to be like a youkai's. Surely the mate-mark would serve the same with her as it would have with a demoness.

Leaning down, InuYasha inhaled her scent from where it was strongest--the crook of her neck. Opening his mouth, he prepared to bite into the soft skin there when the second door was flung open.

Several things happened at once. First, a small boy baring a faint resemblance to Kagome began screaming for his mother. Second, Kagome jerked awake in his arms, burying her face into the fur of his haori. Third, InuYasha jumped up to stand on the bed, ready to protect his Mate no matter what, and hit his head on the ceiling of the room.

"Mom!" the boy shrieked, holding out the word shrilly. "Vampire! Vampire!"

"Souta!" Kagome shouted, sitting up in InuYasha's lap as he collapsed in pain on the bed, one arm leaving the back of Kagome's legs to cradle his head.

"My head," the hanyou moaned, eyes squeezing shut as the girl in his lap struggled to make the arm strongly holding her waist drop away. He whimpered when another wave of pain shot through him, his ears pinning back into his hair.

"Let go of my sister!" the boy--Souta--yelled. As if that were his battle-cry, he flew into the room, grabbing that weird storm/metal thing. Before InuYasha could shield himself, the thing hit his head, shattering. Instinctively, he covered Kagome's much smaller body with his own, glass falling around them onto the blanket.

When he realized it was safe once more, InuYasha glared at the boy, his lip pulled back in a snarl across his teeth.

Souta took several large steps back as another person--an older woman--ran into the room, her eyes immediately drawn to the hanyou clutching Kagome. Her eyes widened, and he knew that she had no idea what to do. Of course, it didn't help that the boy was crying, "He's a vampire! I saw him! He was going to bite Kagome!"

After those words left the boy's throat, Kagome glared up at InuYasha as though they hadn't just been attacked by a brat that had been wielding a metal object. "You were going to _bite_ me?! What is wrong with you, InuYasha?!" She grabbed for one of the pillows that sat on the bed a few inches away from them and smacked him in the face with it. "You don't just go around _biting_ people!"

He bared his fangs warningly at her, though she didn't seem to notice--or maybe she didn't care. Tightening his arm around her, he growled, "And that gives that brat the right to hit me over the head?! What's wrong with _you_, Kagome?!"

She rolled her eyes. "You can rip apart a youkai just fine but a little--wait." Looking at her desk, her eyes fired at Souta. "You used my _lamp_?! You just broke a perfectly good lamp!"

Pointing his finger at the silver-haired boy in the room, Souta's eyes filled with angry tears. "He…he was going to…bite you. I-I didn't know what to do!" he said quickly, stuttering. "Was I just supposed to let him?!"

Before Kagome could answer, InuYasha snarled, "Yes! That's _exactly_ what you were supposed to do, brat!"

"Hey! Don't insult my son!" the woman said, finally finding her voice. "And let go of my daughter! We don't even know who you are!" She took a furious step forward, but he saved her the rest of the trip by moving off the bed swiftly, meeting her face to face, though he was quite a few inches taller than her.

She didn't back down, though. Instead, she demanded, "You'd better put my daughter down!"

Defiantly, he brought her closer to his chest, ignoring her mutter of protest. "Ningen, don't give me orders. I don't have the patience for you."

"InuYasha! Don't talk to my mother that way!" Kagome began squirming, forcing him to put her on the ground or drop her. When she put her back to her mother and glared at him, he scowled in return, rage rising in him as she continued to issue orders. "Why are you here, anyways? Go back to…wherever it is you came from!"

He leaned down to mutter for her ears only, "I won't leave here without my Mate."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his tone. "Are you still going on about that? Don't you realize that I'm not your Mate, yet?!" She spun on her heel to look away from him, determined to have the last word. "Mama, Souta, I'm sorry about this. I don't even know where he got such a silly idea like that."

Her mother seemed a bit relieved and nodded, grabbing Souta by the arm to tug him out of the room. "If you need us, Kagome, just yell." With that, they were gone.

When Kagome started to follow, InuYasha grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn back to him. "Damnit, I'm not fucking done talking to you yet!"

She grabbed his hand daintily within her own two fingers and said, "Yes, but I'm done talking to _you_." Dropping his hand, she started away from him but suddenly stopped. Without turning around, she spoke to him. "InuYasha…how did you know to go into the well?"

Confusion at her question rolled through his mind. "I followed your scent."

She gave him a perplexed look for a moment before shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm just not used to hearing that. I've never met a demon before," she added softly, watching him with a wondering expression. "And it's not like I'm gonna be around you for very long, so I guess it doesn't matter, huh?"

Fury made his consciousness blur for a moment as he growled, "The _fuck_ you won't be around long!" Not giving her time to react, he swung his arm out and around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. She gasped and put her hands against his chest, attempting to pull away from him. Unfortunately, it did nothing to sway him. "You're my Mate, damnit, which means you're stuck with me. _Forever_. And if that isn't a long damn time, I don't know what the hell is!" She thrust herself back, trying to get away from him, but it didn't matter; he held tight. "I'm not gonna give up _my one Mate_ because you're afraid of a hanyou!"

Fire flashed in her russet eyes. "Don't tell _me_ what _I'm_ afraid of! And, to repeat myself, _I am not your Mate_!"

"You're not even youkai; how the fuck would you know?! A fucking ningen like you shouldn't even _be_ my fucking Mate!"

"Exactly!" Kagome yanked herself from him, breathing heavily. "So _don't_ expect me to give up _my life_ for someone I don't even know! All I know about you is that you're a half-demon that was pinned to a tree for fifty years by some priestess! Oh, and that you're a _lunatic_!"

"Then you're fucking stuck with a lunatic, bitch!"

She backed away from him, her hands clutched in tight fists. "Don't call me a--"

Her words stopped when he began stalking after her, following her around her room until finally she stood in the open doorway. "W-what are you d-doing, InuYasha?" She cursed her breathless--almost frightened--tone when it reached her ears. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His movements increased, forcing her own to follow suit. Something told her--either the sudden flare in his eyes or the set of his body--she wouldn't appreciate being caught by him. Her body tensed, ready to flee. His eyes shone in the soft light within her room, coming from the only light--the lamp residing beside her bed. Sometime between the time her family had left the room and InuYasha began stalking her, the sun had fully set, shrouding them in relative darkness.

"I-Inu…Yasha?" she asked almost desperately, her voice barely a squeak. She found herself moving out of her room, preparing to run, noting that he was doing the same.

With little thought to consequences, Kagome slammed her bedroom door closed, turning and racing through her home, unknowingly going back to the well house without a word to her family. She knew InuYasha would follow her, so she only had a few moments to find a safe place.

Mere seconds after she entered the small hut, she heard her red clothed pursuer land outside the doors, his breathing a rasp of angry mutterings of discipline. _Oh, gods. I can't let him catch me if he's acting like this!_

Stumbling down the stairs in the blink of an eye, Kagome was poised to jump into the well when he burst into the shrine, his eyes flashing as they caught hers. Without another thought, the school-girl pushed herself into the well, feeling herself falling for too long before she felt her hands meet dirt. She knew he would follow soon after and frantically began climbing up the sides of the old well. She made it in record time.

A bright light emitted from the well behind her, making her freeze in fright. With his superior hanyou strength, he would merely have to jump up and he'd block her escape.

Determined, Kagome started running again, desperate to find somewhere to hide from the psychotic half-breed. _How can he think _I'm_ his "Mate"? I'm not even part youkai, nor have I ever met one!_ He landed somewhere close behind her, causing her to start, but not deterring her mission. She _would_ make it to safety without being--

"Kagome! What happened to ye?" the old priestess's voice questioned from somewhere to Kagome's left. She stopped, hearing InuYasha crash angrily through trees in her wake, relief washing through her.

Kagome ran to Kaede's side, her breathing coming in harsh gasps. "Kaede! You have to help me! InuYasha's--"

To punctuate her unformed sentence, InuYasha landed between the two women, forcing Kagome to walk backwards to stay out of the reach of his arms. "Damnit, don't slam fucking doors on me," he snarled, towering over her even from a few feet away. "You need to learn some goddamned respect for your Mate!" He noticed the way she flinched at his words, uncaring that she was frightened. "You're lucky I don't turn you over my damned knee!"

Neither noticed as Kaede pulled something from within her robes, mumbling lowly, "I should have known I'd have to use these."

Kagome's eyes were caught by something glowing in her would-be savior's hands and saw that she seemed to be…praying to them. Then the beads disappeared one by one, somehow flying through the air to circle around InuYasha's neck. Both the girl and boy froze, looking at the necklace around his neck. But, after a moment, it didn't matter; InuYasha started after her once more.

She yelped and tried to make a beeline for the village--_okay, so I'm going to _Taru_ for safety. Sue me_--but he was there blocking her way.

As though exasperated with their little show, Kaede spoke plainly, as though she were merely talking about the weather. "Kagome, all ye have to say is one word to subdue him."

Frantic, Kagome searched her brain for the answer to that. _Why does everyone have to let me figure things out! Just tell me the word that will stop a dog demon from--I'm stupid. I shouldn't have even needed a moment to think about it!_ "Sit!" she yelled.

The next moments were a blur as a) the beads began to glow around InuYasha's neck, b) InuYasha flew to the ground--hard, and c) Taru came running into the small clearing they had ended up in, swearing vengeance on anyone who had made Kagome scream.

"Wha…what the fuck is this thing?!" InuYasha demanded from his prone position on the forest floor, a small crater in the shape of his body showing as he tried to push himself upright. But it was as if the necklace was too heavy, holding him close to the dirt mercilessly.

"Beads of subjugation. Ye had best learn to control yourself, InuYasha," Kaede answered, turning towards the village. "Now, will ye come with me to check upon the villagers ye injured? I suspect a youkai was involved."

Kagome followed after the elderly miko, Taru going to her side with a dark glare sent to InuYasha, knowing that he had been the cause of the commotion. But he didn't say a word, content just to walk beside his "courted".

_I hate fucking humans. And that bitch is going to learn who's the fucking dominant one in this goddamned mating._

0…0…0

**I know, I know! It's been a month since I last updated. I'm sorry. It was way too long. But my computer is going crazy and I almost lost all my files.**

**This chapter was a little short, but it's also one o'clock in the morning for me.**

**School alert:  
Since school is rapidly approaching us, I have a sad announcement: I may only be able to update two times a month (that means in all, not per story). I'm sorry to all those who are loyal readers of my stories. All I can say is that I will update as often as possible. I warn you, there may be long waits, though, for chapters. Please bear with me.**

**Again, question: Is it "bare" with me or "bear"? I've been wondering that for awhile.**

**Read and review!  
**_**SS98**_


	5. Facts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own InuYasha, so all you lawyers can't do anything to me! Ha!

**Ownage:** Taru. That's it…so far.

0…0…0

**Chapter Five - Facts**

_Sometimes myths and legends are easier to handle than the facts themselves._

0…0…0

That night, Kagome lay in her makeshift bed, waiting for everyone's breathing to level out. Once they did, she would be able to sneak out and go back home. Then maybe she could sort this whole thing out.

Looking across the room to where InuYasha was leaning against the wall, Kagome silently wondered if he was truly asleep. His chest rose slowly, evenly, but his ears still swiveled at any noise made, even if it was just Taru's soft snoring. But she didn't want to just wait around for a real sign that he was asleep. She didn't have that kind of time to waste. For all she knew, he would awake the moment she was out the door and come charging after her!

After a few moments, however, she decided it was safe enough and started out the door.

Long fingers curled tightly around her wrist, yanking her back into a hard body.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he demanded in a rough whisper as his arm swung around to wrap around her waist firmly. "If you think I'm stupid enough to let you run off, you've got another think coming."

Stiffening at the tone of his voice, she forced herself to relax. Anger quickly fought out the fear she had over the fact that he was _much_ stronger than her. "InuYasha, you can't expect me to stay here just because you've got some crazy idea in your head that I'm your Mate. My _family_ is beyond that well, not to mention my life, my friends, my _home_…."

There was no hesitation in his voice when he immediately retorted, "You're home is _here,_ with your _Mate_! And I _know _you're my Mate because none of this would make sense _otherwise_! Why the fuck would I keep saving you if you weren't?!"

"Twice is not a pattern of saving me!" she hissed venomously, letting it drip from her tone.

"You've been here for two _fucking_ days, and I've had to save you two _fucking _times! I think _that_ would be a pattern!"

"Damnit, half-breed! It's the middle of night; let her go!" Taru's booming voice came from behind the hanyou, who unhurriedly glared over his shoulder at the warrior. "Have you no thought towards her reputation here?"

InuYasha snapped his teeth at him for that. "I'm her _Mate_, asshole."

"That means very little to humans. To them, she is a miko, a pure being. You have no business waking her up in the middle of the night to do whatever you were planning."

Arms falling from Kagome, InuYasha clenched his hands into tight fists as he slowly turned towards the human. "I'll repeat myself only once; _I'm her fucking Mate_."

Taru simply waved the statement off, chuckling slightly. "As if a _miko_ could be a Mate to a youkai. Not to mention a _half-breed_." As InuYasha took a threatening step forward, Taru's mocking demeanor instantly vanished as he brought one hand to the hilt of the sword at his waist. "Try it, hanyou, and I'll have your head off your shoulders before you can take your next breath," he said quietly in warning.

Something in Kagome made her rush to put herself between the two men, pressing her body firmly into InuYasha's as she faced Taru before she knew what she was doing. She scowled at him while spreading her arms protectively, though she was still a bit too short to actually block any attack on the amber-eyed man's head. "Don't you dare, Taru," she snarled lethally, surprising herself with how dark her voice sounded, even to her own ears.

Taru stiffened, his hand leaving his weapon. He quickly straightened out of his slightly crouched pose, glowering at InuYasha over her head as he began to chuckle.

The sound of the hanyou's unexpected laughter made her realize exactly what she had just shown by placing herself in front of him openly and without hesitation. Her body was rigid when she twisted to also glare at InuYasha.

His smug, satisfied smirk told her everything she needed to know. But that didn't stop him from speaking the words.

"Told ya you're my Mate."

Her soft screech of annoyance and fury rang through the tiny hut, though it seemed nothing could wake the exhausted Kaede. She lay atop her small futon in an awkward, curled up position. She twitched in her sleep, but gave no sign of waking.

Taru, furious, growled, "You can't expect a human to give up her life because you're delusional! What if she doesn't _want_ to be your Mate? Hmm? What then, half-breed? Are you going to force her into a mating she doesn't want?"

InuYasha stiffened at that, his ears flattening on his head. After a moment of tense silence, he ground out, "I wouldn't _force_ my Mate into _anything_!" With that, he tried to leap around Kagome to attack the human.

Somehow anticipating this move, the priestess tried to move in the pathway, but something at the back of her mind stopped her. _Stay back; he won't be hurt_. A part of her froze as she asked it, _Yeah, but which one are you talking about?_

_Our Mate. There's no need to interfere. He will be all right._

Shaking her head, unable to trust that some part of her actually _believed_ that she was InuYasha's Mate. She wasn't even part youkai, for crying out loud! How was she supposed to be something humans could never be?

Though she had always believed youkai and mikos to be nothing but myth, she had heard legends meant to teach the morally corrupt to turn a different cheek, though it probably didn't even work. Of course, now that she thought about the stories, they all seemed to ring true in their own way.

Such as the man who had been ripped apart limb by limb by a demon after the man had helped the youkai's Mate commit adultery. Or when the woman who had lied to a youkai, who were supposedly unable to lie and loathed those who did.

Quite suddenly, Kagome felt someone grab her arm in a soft touch, obviously feminine. Turning away from the dueling pair, though it seemed as if they were content with just insulting each other between punches, she saw Kaede with a drowsy look on her face.

"Shh," the old woman murmured. A small smile played on her lips. "Go to your world, Kagome. They will be fighting for quite awhile. Take your chance."

Not quite believing the sly look on the older woman's face, Kagome began to stutter, drawing InuYasha's sensitive ears towards the two women for a brief moment before he was back to attacking Taru.

"Go!"

Hurriedly, Kagome rushed from the hut, hoping that InuYasha wouldn't again follow her to her home. She didn't know if her family could take another surprise like that!

She knew she would have to explain—no matter how insane she sounded—what had happened. Perhaps they _wouldn't_ throw her into an institution. But she could only really hope. Who would believe that a fifteen year old girl fell down a well into a different time period and became the supposed Mate of a half-demon that was pinned to a tree for fifty years by a priestess that happened to be the original owner of the fifteen year old's soul?

Thinking back to her grandfather, she decided that it wasn't _such_ a long shot. He believed in sacred sutras and the like, so why wouldn't he believe in time travel or enchanted arrows? Heck, he'd probably be the only one to say that she could stay living at home!

She suddenly found herself standing before the well, a shiver running through her at the feeling of awareness. She swung around, sure that someone was watching her. When she saw no one, she began to silently curse her stupidity. _No one is going to be watching_ you_. Why would they? To them, you're just another girl who happens to be staring at an old well. Stop being so paranoid._

Ignoring the voice inside her head, she silently fell into the well, the weightless feeling clutching at her stomach, making her queasy for the smallest moment.

Finally landing on her own side of the well, she let out a sigh of relief and quietly made her way out of the well.

0…0…0

One detail caught InuYasha's nose: the origin of Kagome's scent was no where to be found. It was no longer in the hut—or anywhere _close_ to it—making an instantaneous flash of protectiveness sweep through him. How had she gotten away from him? What if she was in danger?!

The need to have her near overwhelmed his senses, making him forget about his fight with the annoying ningen. As he raced out of the hut without a word, something snapped within him. The first piercing feeling of fear nearly doubled him over. There were thousands of scenarios of what could be happening to her running through his mind, making him frantic. His youkai blood raced past the human, ready to knock heads in if they dared lay a hand on _his _Mate.

An almost silent squeak caught his attention, his heart beating faster. She was in trouble. Something was wrong! His breathing halted when her scent nearly vanished.

If he had thinking straight, he wouldn't have become so furious. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have remembered what had happened the first time she went down the well to her own time.

If he had been thinking clearly, he would have known better than to go charging after her in full rampage mode.

0…0…0

Kagome gave a sigh of relief when her mother nodded her head to the girl's suggestion. If they could just wait until morning for explanations, everything would be fine. All Kagome needed was a little rest and some down time. Then they could figure out what to do in their situation.

Gramps had come home almost immediately after Kagome had taken off with the nearly rabid InuYasha. He had searched through some of the "history" books—that seemed to be truer than they had ever before—that he kept around the house and looked up anything and everything to do with youkai mating.

He had marked pages in a dozen books, informing her to read everything that was highlighted.

Now, almost two hours since then, she had finished the last one. It had probably been the most descriptive of the articles, and it made her throat burn as she swallowed. Was all this true? Were these the actual facts of what InuYasha actually _expected_ of her?

She looked down at the page once more, inhaling sharply. Words burst into her mind, making her cringe slightly in fear.

_The Book of Youkai_ was definitely _not_ something a fifteen year old girl—who was a supposed Mate of a hanyou—would want to read.

_**Mating**_

_Youkai—and thus, hanyou—kind are very animal-like creatures. Their instincts are near perfection, they have more strength than humans, and some can even shape-shift. Unfortunately, this is also why it was hard for humans and demons to live in the same world. While youkai thought humans to be weak, useless things that could easily be thrown away, humans began believing that demons were nothing but barbaric creatures that were no different than their animal cousins and should be treated as such._

_And when mating, they were._

_A youkai having a human mate was almost unheard of, though not completely. There were even a few well-known human women_ (see Chapter Twelve, Historic Moments)_ that became youkai mates. Almost all the records, however, have been destroyed of how the mating affected the women. Fortunately, family journals have been given to me for my research, so I can give my readers the best view into this terrifying experience._

_While demons can be calm and cool, when their primal/instinctual side is awakened, they are not known for being anything less than rabid._

_This is the same for mating. From the records I have recovered, human women have nearly died with their youkai "husband" and are traumatized for life from the first "marking"._

"My husband is a kind man; I would not have let him do such a thing to me otherwise," _one writes._ "But I would never go back to that moment again in my life. He was no longer who I had known him to be. His eyes flashed blood red, lacking any humanity, as he attacked me. I had been prepared for pain, but it was more than I had been lead to believe!

"I do not believe he didn't care as I cried out, but I don't think he could hear me. He continued for hours—as did the pain—until finally he was spent. I thought that was the end. Suddenly, though, his eyes narrowed on my throat as if he would like nothing more than to taste the blood there. I fought to get away, but my youkai would not let me go.

"He held me down as he bit into my neck, ripping at the skin there. I screamed and thrashed, but it didn't stop him; he lay atop me, digging his teeth slowly deeper until my vision grew hazy and I could no longer feel anything. Then he pulled away, lapping at the wound. I remember clearly that he begged for forgiveness as my wounds healed too quickly, making me gasp. We lay there until morning, all the while not saying anything. I haven't been able to move since then, my body refusing to listen. Even now I can barely the pen to paper."

_I must thank, before I forget, this woman's family, though I have been asked not to give any names. This is the oldest article I could find on such a topic and it was very insightful._

Kagome stared at the page, horrified all over again. Would InuYasha do such a thing to her? Surely this woman was dramatizing it. After the way InuYasha had been acting, there was no way he could hurt her so much himself. Could he?

She shuddered at the thought. He could. It would be so very easy to him. He probably wouldn't even think about it when he did it. If the woman who had written this hadn't been lying, Kagome was in deeper than she had ever believed possible.

Shuddering, she slammed the book closed, tossing it to the other side of her room. She looked to the clock beside her bed, noting that it was almost dawn. She should get some sleep. If she didn't, there was no way she'd be able to go to school the next day.

Rising from her spot, her eyes drifted to where the book had fallen. It had landed with both covers on the floor, the pages flipped open to one called "Legends". Curiosity ate at her for a few moments. She'd always loved to hear the legends of times passed and relate them to things in her own life. Maybe there would be something worthwhile in there.

Skimming the passages, her eyes caught "Triumph". _Hmmm_. _This one looks really good._

Picking up the book, she flopped down on her bed, glad she had taken her shower and changed clothes. Her hair fell, still damp, onto the page, making a circle around the name--

_Boom!_ Her window fell in with a resounding sound, the only thing stopping her from screaming the clawed hand the swiftly covered her mouth. She stared up at dark yellow/orange eyes that were slowly returning to their usual gold. His white hair surrounded them both as he leaned dangerously close to her.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing, leaving like that?! What if something had happened, huh?!" he demanded in a low hiss. Instead of allowing her to respond, he continued vehemently. "You're lucky I've had however damn long to calm down! When you yelped in the fucking well, I just about killed someone!"

She froze as several things hit her at once. One, he had waited outside her window for as long as she'd been home. Two, he still wasn't calmed fully down after _that_ whole time. Third, his hand was resting really closely to her most private part, and the sensation was making her tingle.

As most girls her age had begun doing, Kagome had found her mind wandering to sex for several months now. The standard questions were there, of course, such as who would be her first, what would it be like, was it really up to all the hype. But after reading some erotic novels, she began wondering about…dirtier ways than the usual.

Other questions had slowly begun to arise within her mind. One of the most prominent was what it would be like to be taken. Not raped, but…the man did all the work. What would _that_ be like?

And it was the position she was in now. InuYasha's weight bore her own into the bed, one hand tight on her upper thigh while the other kept her from saying a word. He was glaring at her darkly, not at all sexually, but that didn't change her reaction. Her body heated as the unfamiliar rush that she had read meant something like lust rode through her, causing her body to tense.

His eyes widened for a moment, a slight blush coming to his face. He glanced down at his hand, taking in the sight of his hand almost fully engulfing her slender hip. The tips of his claws reached up to her belly button, he noticed. His thumb, however, just barely stopped itself from being inappropriate. When his eyes caught hers once more, they flared, both his hands flattening on either side of her on the bed. A low growl rumbled through him as he leaned down, his face centimeters from hers.

Her scent, coming from the very center of her, was driving him mad. It was the perfect blend of ripe peaches and innocent flowers. The word innocent hung in the human part of him, reminding him that she was fragile. He would have to disregard his youkai side's demands of a fast mating if he wished for her to stay with him.

Which she would. After this, he wouldn't let her go so much as three feet away from him.

Her body soon hit the bed until she was lying down, looking up at him with her large, cerulean eyes. His mind blanked out for a moment as hunger ate at him. His hands wandered to her ribcage before feathering down to her hips. She was young, he knew, and not fully developed. But, damn, her curves were _already_ dangerous…anything more, and he would be beating off other men constantly.

However, he couldn't make himself mind.

His face descended once more, ready to take her lips.

Her eyes wide as she watched his movements, she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to push him back. Something on his shoulder had…moved. Not like a bug but…oh, no.

It was another hair.

0…0…0

Yura absently played with the hair twining around her fingers, sighing. The hanyou was definitely not being very fun. She had watched as he followed after his Mate, shaking her head. He was so predictable, even if his portal was not. He would, of course, go to save his precious woman. She would trap him when he returned.

There was, after all, a way past all barriers.

Hair could go through most barriers, whether they be spiritual or not. So there was no way for the half-breed to stop her.

Ah, how she would love to watch his eyes glaze over as she killed his ningen Mate. Sadness would quickly turn to rage before the real fun could begin. She simply couldn't wait.

Humming to herself, she was pulled from her almost sleepy reverie by a sharp tug on the hair. Bolting upright, she gave a jerk towards her, surprised when it resisted. _Oo, this could get interesting_, she thought with a wry twist of her lips.

With a few movements of her fingers, she watched as hair flew past her and into the old well, ready to attack the hanyou and ningen. It would not kill either of them; that would ruin her fun. No, it would simply bring them to her so she could do the honors herself.

_Stupid half-breed. You have just given your woman over to me._

0…0…0

InuYasha rose off of Kagome reluctantly, watching her hand as it moved over something. Confusion captured him, until a single drop of blood rolled off her hand. At the smell, he snarled, instinctively grabbing her to pull him protectively into his chest.

She struggled, muttering that he had to let her go. "It's the hair again, InuYasha!" She pulled fully out of his arms, going to the opening where her window had been. She pointed out, her finger stretching into the darkness outside. "There! It's coming from the well!" Starting to go out the window, she didn't seem to care that it was a long way to the ground.

As she tensed to leap, InuYasha wrapped an arm around her waist and pushed off, landing just in front of the well house. By this time, the noise seemed to have awakened _someone_ in the house, because lights began switching on in several rooms.

Knowing he had very little time before her whole family would be stampeding outside, InuYasha burst into the well house, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. But Kagome still gasped frantically in his arms, digging her face into him just as something slammed him back outside, pinning him to the ground.

With his arms wrapped around her, he couldn't do much, so he was forced to let her go to slash blindly at the air. It felt like things were constantly giving way beneath them, but still he could see nothing.

Kagome was shouting commands at him as they made it back into the hut, pointing this way and that. She could _see_ whatever was going after him? But why didn't it stop? Whatever it was should have died by this time.

"You've to cut this hair! This one right here!" she said, waving at the air. Seeing nothing, his ignorance must have shown on his face because she grabbed something and seemed to pull it down, saying, "Cut right here!"

With a downward strike, it fell away. Kagome gave a squeak of triumph. So it was finally dead, huh? Hadn't been too hard.

She glared at him suddenly, vengeance clear on her face. "You put my family in danger, bringing that here! If anything had happened to them, it would have been your fault!" Stomping to glare up at him, she snarled, "Don't you _ever_ bring another demon here again! My family isn't used to fighting that way you are! They would have been killed in a second, tops!"

He didn't understand her fury. Wasn't a Mate supposed to be _joyous_ when the other was around? He'd noticed among other demons that the females seemed almost lost without their male around; why hadn't she been?

Leaning down to see if there was any sign of happiness—or lingering sadness—in her eyes, his nose caught the scent that still clung to her from their earlier…er…escapades. His gut twisted, his body hardening tightly. Damnit, if he didn't mate her soon, he was going to go insane! She smelled so…delectable. He couldn't help but flash his incisors at her dangerously, making her eyes widen. Though she tried to back away, he pulled her back to him with his hands on her upper arms, saying quietly, "You smell so damn _good_," before burying his face in her neck to take in all of her delicious scent.

She pushed futilely against his chest in fear. He had guessed she would. Youkai mating wasn't exactly as…harmless as human.

Just as her struggles stopped, just as he opened his mouth to dig his fangs into her throat to mark her, her name was shouted from somewhere behind them. Rage arose within him. Yet another distraction. Damnit, once he got her back home, he would take her into the damned forest, far away from any humans or demons. Not even that idiot Taru would find them.

She pushed away from him, running past him to her home and straight to her mother, who couldn't have been able to see anything.

Soon, after he'd shoved down his anger when she disappeared into the house, Kagome returned to his side, a small yellow bag on her shoulder. She glared at him.

"Mama thought we might need some of this stuff."

0…0…0

**Yes, incredibly short and jumpy. Sorry. What with homework, cheerleading, and soccer, I haven't been able to do a lot of writing. This is a lot of random days at random times.**

**Again, sorry.  
**_**V. L. MacKenzie**_

**aka SS98**


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